Intoxication
by Kage3
Summary: Rufus Shinra wakes up in a strange place, apparently kidnapped. Somehow, the situation flips and he ends up with a hostage of his own! Will they come to an agreement? Slightly AU. RufusxTifa. Slight CloudxAerith
1. The Headache

A/n: Holy crap. I'm back. Honestly… after how many years now? All it took was reading some good ole' Rufus and Tifa fics… And I've been drawn back in! I work a full time job now, for any of you interested, but I am home in the evenings and my creative juices are flowing. I'm going to try to get back into the swing of things. We'll see how this goes. Just so I know that I'm not rusty as hell, please review, I need to know what sucks and what doesn't. Cheers!

* * *

Perhaps it was the not so smooth ride that jolted him awake. He attempted to sit up but smacked his head on the low ceiling of wherever he was. That was when he realized how much his head already hurt. His eyes were open, but he could see nothing. He wasn't sure if it was because of how much his head was throbbing, he very briefly considered that he might possibly be blind. His eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light, his vision throbbing with each pang. Rufus Shinra realized now that there was a very lightweight cloth bag over his face, and that his wrists and ankles were bound with thick zip ties. It was becoming fairly apparent that he had been kidnapped and was now currently in transit via a cramped trunk. "I am going to have to remember to have a very serious conversation with my Turks." He thought to himself before weighing out his threadbare options.

Firstly, he didn't know who had taken him. Secondly, he didn't know what the terms of his kidnapping would mean. In any case, he barely remembered what had happened before he found himself in his current predicament.

He'd been out too long to note all the turns the vehicle made. Straining, he listened for the type of terrain they were currently traveling over. Seemed like smooth highway. Probably on their way out of Midgar now. "Shit."

What had he been doing before this? _Let's see. I was … at a public event. I had Reno and Rude with me. Damn, I knew I should have brought Tseng. At least he would have been paying attention to my safety instead of the open bar._

All too suddenly, his mind flashed back to the event, jarring his headache further.

Rufus had attended this city function to show ShinRa face. He wasn't completely sure what the function's purpose was, but he knew he had to attend because his father had other business in Midgar, and someone of 'importance' needed to be there. Truthfully, Mayor Domino had begged him to at least stop by.

He stood outside the doors with Reno and Rude, trying to get into the correct mindset for something he truly wasn't interested in doing. Sighing rather harshly, and rolling his eyes behind his closed lids, Rufus gathered the remains of his patience and plastered on a false smile and began the greeting process with the attending socialites.

"Oh, welcome young Master Shinra, it is so good to see you. I'm glad to see your interest in the city of Midgar!" An ancient looking woman dripping with costume jewelry descended upon him, placing her wrinkled, clawed hand on his shoulder.

" _Charm. As soon as you're president, you can be the anti-social hermit you want to be, but until I kick the bucket, you need to show how charming you can be so that people trust you."_ Rufus' father's words echoed in his head. _Ugh._

"Ah, Madam Boticella, very nice to see you this evening, you're looking… radiant as ever."

The old crone cackled and winked at him. "You flatterer! Come, come, you should meet my daughter!"

With a silent groan, Rufus slowly followed. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Reno and Rude had circled the crowd a couple of times before Reno slowly ended his perimeter check at the bar. With his back to the bartender, he ordered a double scotch on the rocks, thinking Rufus hadn't caught on to his intentions.

Which of course, was very incorrect. He quietly strode over to his red headed Turk.

"Yo, boss, is this a nice party or what?" Reno ignored the drink that had only just now been placed at his elbow by the bartender.

"Or what. I have no reason to be here other than as the poster boy for the company. My father is much more suited to these … social trappings. And by the way, don't think for a moment that I am unaware of the scotch you ordered. Just realize that every drink you take comes out of your paycheck."

"Guess I'd better quit orderin' the top shelf stuff then, huh boss." Reno said sheepishly, finally grabbing his drink.

Rufus smirked. Of all the Turks, Reno was the only one that actually made him chuckle. A little.

A female voice cut through the din of the crowd. "Can I get you anything to drink, _Master_ Rufus?"

Rufus looked past Reno to see the bartender smiling at him. She was young, in her twenties. Her long brown hair was pulled back, a few tendrils teased about her face. Her bright red wine colored eyes sparkled with her question, her full pink lips drawing into a flirtatious smirk. She was wearing standard party bartender dress, a white button down shirt, a tad unbuttoned to show just the slightest hint of her ample cleavage. A black vest drew in at the curve of her small waist, polishing the look with a professional, yet scintillating look.

Completely ignoring Reno at this point, who took this convenient distraction to turn tail, Rufus made his way closer to the bar. Interested in a drink, he grinned as he said, "Now that seems hardly fair. You know my name, but I don't know yours."

The brunette's smirk broke into a wide smile, and she leaned over the bar on her elbows. "I tell you what. I'll tell you my name if you let me make you a special drink. I've been experimenting and I think you might like it. I call it 'El Presidente'. I might even tell you what's in it."

Intrigued by the open, yet innocent flirting, he thought for a moment before saying, "Fair enough. I suppose I'm game for a little experiment."

Still smiling, she winked at him as she turned to make his 'special drink'. She looked over her shoulder. "So, what are you doing here, isn't your father more the social butterfly? I mean, no offense, but I hardly ever see your name on the social page in the paper."

Quirking an eyebrow, Rufus leaned an elbow on the bar. "Well, my father is a bit indisposed at the moment. He had a last minute meeting, but told me to come here in his stead. Not that it is any of your business." He said with a smirk.

Her shoulders jerked ever so slightly, but she turned around with the same pouted smile. "It's not my business, yet still, it's just a conversational question." Her wine eyes stared deep into his as she set a highball glass with ice and amber liquid in front of him. "I hope you like your drinks _strong_ , Mr. Shinra." She said with another wink. "My name is Tifa, and I'll be your bartender. Enjoy your night; if you get bored or thirsty, come back and see me… if you feel your sobriety is any of my business." The end of her sentence hissed through her teeth, a grin curling the corners of her mouth.

"I'll come back to let you know if this 'El Presidente' drink is a hit or not." He said with a smirk, bringing the glass to his lips. The tart taste mixed with sweet in his mouth, but the burn of alcohol was still there. It was a rather tempting drink, but one he could only have one of. He turned to greet more of the socialites at the soiree.

* * *

Rufus managed to finally find Mayor Domino, who introduced him to a large group of people, but he grew bored with them quickly. None of the conversation sparked his interest. But that bartender on the other hand…

After finishing 2/3s of the drink in about twenty minutes, he found himself back at the bar. He looked for the brunette bartender again. _What was her name…?_ "Tiffany- what's in this drink?"

She emerged from the back room with wide eyes. "I beg your pardon?"

"You told me you'd tell me what was .. what was in this drink. It's gooooood." He held the word a bit too long for his liking. Something was off. There was no way one drink had him intoxicated.

"It's just 'Tifa' by the way, but yes, I guess I did tell you that. Well, a bit of this, a bit of that." She tucked a tendril of loose hair behind her ear and looked into his eyes. "It's my own special recipe. I have a very special bottle of bourbon, aged to perfection…" She looked around. "Your Turks won't mind if I take you to my back room to show you? It's quieter back there." The playful grin splayed across her face.

Against a very strong, sober urge to deny the request, something about her intrigued his senses, though those were fairly dulled by whatever was making him feel drunk. "Lead the way."

She took his hand and led him behind the bar, into the back room, and started down a corridor.

Rufus stopped. "Wait. You made this drink at the bar. Why would the bottle be back here?" At least some of his sense was working.

Tifa halted when he pulled on the hand she was leading him with. She turned with a grin on her face. "Because I wanted to get you someplace a little more private…"

Rufus' knee faulted, but he caught himself. "I'm not one to have a tryst in a dusty backroom on top of old cardboard boxes."

She giggled, her merlot pools glittering in the dim light. "That's really not what I had in mind." She grabbed his jacket lapel and pulled him closer to her, though it really felt more for stability than an embrace. "I was thinking more of a road trip."

And that was the last thing Rufus remembered before waking up with a blinding headache in the trunk of a car.


	2. The Shame

A/N: Wow, I wasn't expecting to get reviews so quickly! Thanks to those of you who left one, it helps when I have feedback, for sure! As one such reviewer, sunflowerspot, pointed out, would Rufus really fall for the whole ploy as it happened? I was thinking about this too as I wrote it, but then I got to thinking, you know, he's at the mayor's party, the bartending service logically would be employed by the mayor who is technically employed by ShinRa. I guess I should have also written that this was an invitation only party, making it even more of a secure place and as sunflowerspot also mentioned, the Turks were present. Rufus, being a bit young and not at all enjoying the social event, needed a little bit of the sauce to help loosen up. Plus, the cute bartender was flirting with him, how could he refuse? LOL Anywhoo, on to chapter 2 of Intoxication.

* * *

It didn't take long for the smooth ride to suddenly turn into bumpy gravel littered with potholes. Every bounce of the car seemed exaggerated, though the speed of the vehicle did not seem to slow down. There were multiple times that Rufus went airborne and landed heavily on his side, probably bruising his ribs.

 _She has to have accomplices. There's no way she could lift my dead weight into the trunk by herself._ He opened and closed his hands to try to get the blood moving, they were beginning to go numb.

 _I am an idiot. Why did I take that drink? Even after she said it was 'special'. If these kidnappers don't kill me, my father definitely will for being so daft._ His thoughts were racing, filled with regret and anger at his current situation.

The car started to slow down, gravel sound melting into no sound at all, possibly over grass. And then it stopped all together. He could hear unintelligible voices outside, muffled through the carpeted walls of the trunk. He decided play dead for the moment; there wasn't anything he could do until he knew more about his situation anyway.

The trunk opened and artificial light flooded the once darkened space, causing Rufus to wince slightly from the pain, but luckily it went unnoticed due to the bag over his head.

A deep male voice broke the silence. "Looks like he's still out cold. Dayum, Tifa- how much d'you give him?"

A familiar female voice responded, "I ground up two pills and put it in his drink. He could wake up any moment. Come on, bring him inside."

Rufus then felt someone scoop and lift him with one arm, then throw him over a shoulder as if he were a ragdoll. " _This is so humiliating._ " He thought indignantly.

Another male voice spoke, "Who's that? He's too skinny to be… I thought I told you to kidnap the President?"

Tifa cleared her throat. "We were, but he sent his son to the event instead. So we have Rufus Shinra."

Shit… I guess he'll have to do. Put him in the last stall on the right. Sit him on the stool in the corner. I'm sure he'll come around in a jiffy."

They weren't even after him. They were after his father. It was starting to seem all too convenient that his father wasn't able to attend that party.

He was then plopped unceremoniously down on a hard wooden stool while his head smacked against the wall behind him. It took everything he had not to make a noise; he bit his lip to keep silent. His head throbbed even worse now, if that were possible.

"BARRETT! Be careful, we don't want to give him brain damage! Poor guy's already been through a lot." Tifa's voice was raised.

"Nah, he's fine. He's supposed to be tough. No one's ever seen him bleed or cry, right? Jes' don't worry yer pretty head about the likes of him. You did yer job, now leave the rest ta us."

"He's still a human being, Barrett. Please, just… go easy on him."

"We'll jes' see. Depends on how compliant he decides to be."

Rufus could hear Tifa's loud sigh and footsteps walking away. He wished she'd come back so he wouldn't be left alone with this "Barrett" person.

He suddenly got a breath of 'fresh' air when the bag was suddenly ripped from his head. He could smell chocobo manure. A lot of it. He managed to retain his composure, continuing his 'out cold' routine.

"That's right; you jes' stay here and sober up a little, ya ShinRa brat."

At this point, Rufus wasn't sure which hurt more - his head, or his tongue for biting it every time he wanted to make a retort.

He waited until he could tell that 'Barrett' had closed the door behind him and cracked an eye open, ever so slightly. He gave his surroundings a quick once over. There was dry hay on the ground, a water trough to his left and above his head to the right was a small window with bars. It was warm, it was humid, and it _reeked._

 _Oh, for the love of Holy. They're keeping me in a chocobo stall in a barn?!_ Looking out the small window, he could just see a bit of the moon. He shut his eyes tight, hoping he'd wake up and that this would all be just a terrible embarrassment of a nightmare.

* * *

Reno wanted to run away as far as he could and never look back. This was the end of his career as a Turk. There was no way they would keep him on, knowing that he'd been on duty when the son of the President of ShinRa was kidnapped, and that was just if they decided to even let him _live._

Rude sat in the passenger seat next to him in the car, in silence as always.

The redheaded Turk looked up at his coworker. "What do you think they'll do to us?"

Rude shook his head; his deep baritone voice was a bit more gravelly than Reno remembered it. "You mean what are they going to do to _you_? You're the one who's going to pop positive for alcohol in your system."

Reno paled. He had forgotten that little detail. "Rude, buddy, we've got to get him back. We can't report him missing yet. We need to buy us some time. We need to call Tseng and tell him that Rufus got intoxicated and he's not safe to move right now in his condition, that we're going to lay low for the moment until he feels better. They'll have to believe it because they won't want people to see the President's son drunk off his ass."

Rude sighed. "That is the dumbest plan I've ever heard. You really believe that Tseng will go for that? What happens if we don't find him by morning?"

Reno shrugged. "We have to. We're Turks. If we can't find him, who can?"

His bald friend shrugged back. "This is a very bad idea, but I have your back. However, you're calling Tseng."

Reno gritted his teeth. "Fair enough buddy. Fair enough. We have to go back to the party and find out who that bartender was. She was the last person we saw him with." He pulled a hasty and very illegal u-turn.

Rude suddenly laughed, causing Reno to fear for just a moment that his friend might slowly be going crazy from the stress of the situation. "Reno, is it possible that Rufus just went home with the bartender?"

Reno shook his head. "He would have told us something before sneaking off. He's not stupid, and he definitely would trust us to cover for him if that were the case."

"You're right. Let's go find this bartender."

* * *

Tifa felt terrible. She really hadn't expected to drag the President's son into this, she was expecting the President. As far as she knew, Rufus seemed at least a _decent_ person.

She leaned against a stall door, listening to the soft 'kweh's of the chocobos that were settling to go to sleep for the night. All she could hope for right now was that Rufus' life was worth it to the President.

Sighing, she decided to check on their prisoner. She was sure he would be rousing soon, and she was betting he'd need some water – and possibly some aspirin.

She quietly opened the sliding door of the stall and closed it behind her. She looked over at him; he was still slumped against the corner of the stall, eyes closed.

Tifa walked over to him and visually checked him for cuts or bruises that might need tending. She gingerly reached out and pulled his head forward to survey the damage that Barrett had done. His blonde hair was matted down, making him look like he just rolled out of bed. She gently laid his back against the corner, as she looked toward the stall door, not noticing the icy glare that had suddenly opened up before her.

A voice caused her to nearly jump out of her skin, "You know, this is all your fault."


	3. The Regret

A/N: Chapter 3! Not much to note on this time, but thank you to those of you who have reviewed thus far, you have no idea what it means to me. I like constructive criticism! Please review; it tells me what you like, what you don't like, and helps me improve! Onto the next chapter!

* * *

He was surprised she didn't scream; she opened her mouth as if she were going to, but thought better of it after she processed what he'd said.

"My fault? Maybe you should have the sense to go to your Turks if you're feeling woozy after one drink? I gave you enough to make you pass out in front of everyone, but _nooooo,_ you had to come waltzing back to the bar." She was doing this thing where it sounded like she was trying to whisper, but yell at the same time.

"Well if you hadn't been throwing yourself all over me…" he started, but was silenced by her finger pointed in his face.

"No sir. Don't you _dare_. I was _not_ throwing myself at you. Playful flirting, maybe. But I was not begging you to go home with me. But maybe I should've, seems like you would have had no problem leaving with a perfect stranger. Are you seriously trying to put _your_ guilt of your situation on me when I actually was successful in doing my job? Do you think that would work on one of your Turks? Now listen, I wasn't planning on taking you, I was expecting to take your father. From what I hear, you two don't have the most love for each other, so I doubt you would have cared if he was the one in your position now. Unfortunately, if something doesn't go quite as planned, we must improvise, and now you're in the crosshairs. I _suggest_ , Mr. Shinra that you behave as a good, quiet, little hostage or I may not be able to stop the boys from roughing you up." She said as she glared down at him, crossing her arms indignantly.

Dumbfounded by the tongue lashing he just received, Rufus realized that he did not have a clever retort. It wasn't often that happened. But, she was right. He closed his mouth and eased his attitude. "Fine then. What exactly is it that you want from me? What are the terms of my kidnapping?"

Tifa chewed on her lower lip, in thought. "I'm only the transporter. I'm not the one who's going to be questioning you. That will be Cloud. I'm sure he'll let you know the terms. Now I came in here to be nice and check on you, and make sure that Barrett didn't give you a concussion."

"Well, I feel as though I've been hit by a truck, and my hands are numb, so there's that."

Tifa swept his hair off his forehead and stared determinedly into each of his eyes. "Do you have a headache?"

"I would call it more of a migraine." He replied as he squinted from the light above her head, staring back into her chestnut eyes.

"Well, you're probably dehydrated, so I'll get you some water."

"With some ice."

She sighed but it melted into a smirk. "You know, you really shouldn't make demands while you're being held hostage. You're lucky I'm not making you drink out of that trough."

Rufus eyed the moldy wooden trough to his left. The thought of drinking out of it made his stomach churn. "I suppose plain water is fine."

Tifa chuckled on her way out of the makeshift cell. "That's what I thought."

He had to admit, he was beginning to like her spirited wit. He knew how they treated prisoners at the ShinRa HQ, and she was being an angel in comparison. She didn't seem to want to hurt him in any way. And she seemed to care for his general well-being. But then again, she wasn't the one he was dreading, it was that brute named Barrett.

He heard voices outside the stall. "Is he up yet? We need to get some information out of him before we contact ShinRa."

There was a pause before she answered. "He's conscious, but he's still out of it. He wouldn't be able to really answer any of your questions yet. I'm getting him some water to wake him up."

"Tifa, we really don't have a lot of time to dilly dally. Wake him up, or I will."

"I got it, Cloud. Relax."

Rufus squinted toward the stall door, trying to see out of the window's bars. Maybe he _was_ still out of it; the guy's hair looked like a chocobo.

Tifa soon re-entered his cell and whispered, "You better figure out how you're going to play this. You're running out of time, and Cloud will not be nice if you act like a snarky bastard. Here, drink this."

He looked at the cup in her hand and looked back up at her. "I don't know, the last time I took a drink from you, it didn't turn out so well."

Her jaw visibly clenched. "You are making it _so_ hard for me to feel sorry for you right now -"

Rufus chuckled. "It was a joke. I was trying to lighten the mood; I would definitely like some water."

She raised the cup to his lips. To his surprise, the water was cold, and ice bumped against his teeth. He gulped it down, ignoring the brain freeze. He'd never been so grateful for another human being in his entire life. Which raised the question in his mind to his lips, "Why are _you_ being so nice to me?"

She froze for a moment. "…I don't know. I guess I feel the slightest guilt that it ended up being you and not your dad. I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt. Cloud says that's one of my weaknesses."

They both heard footsteps approaching; the blonde man with the chocobo spikes entered the stall.

" _That must be Cloud."_ Rufus thought. He squinted at the new arrival and swayed back forth, appearing dazed. "Whozzat?"

Tifa looked at Rufus, then back at Cloud. "See Cloud, I told you he's still not totally coherent yet."

Cloud stepped over to Tifa and grabbed the cup from her hands. "We don't have time for this." He said as he poured the rest of the contents over Rufus' head.

The stinging, icy water caused Rufus to suck in a breath instinctively, but he couldn't breathe out. Ice slid down his collar and into his jacket. He shook his head to move his wet freezing hair out of his eyes.

Cloud bent down to look their captive in the face. "Are you awake?"

"I suppose I am now." Rufus finally breathed out, glaring into eyes equally as icy blue as his own. His wet hair was plastered around his face.

Tifa bit her lip. "Cloud…"

The blonde with the spikes turned to look at her. "Tifa, I think it'd be best if you just waited outside. I don't want you in here for this. Baby Shinra and I need to chat alone."

"But I –"

Cloud pointed to the door, but spoke gently. "Mosey, Tifa. Shut the door behind you, please."

As Cloud turned back to face Rufus, Tifa shot the bound man a concerned look before slowly turning to walk out the door.

* * *

"Yes, I remember seeing her seeing her about to leave. It was her shift to set up and work until 9; I work the rest of the shift and I'll close it down. She got picked up by her friend. Big black guy, I think he works as a bouncer at her bar… 7th Heaven I think it's called. I don't know his name."

"Do you happen to know where she lives?" Reno asked the bartender who was now working the party.

She shook her head. "No, I've only worked events like this with her. Mayor Domino has us bartend for his parties because he's visited our local bars, liked how we look, liked how we act with patrons, and liked how we make drinks. Is she in some sorta trouble, Mister?"

"No, no, of course not. We're looking to ask her to bartend an event of our own. Our boss liked her… a lot." Reno replied with a grin.

The bartender giggled. "I see. Yeah, she does get a few admirers. I have her phone number, but it's the landline for her bar." She handed Reno Tifa's business card. "It also has the address of her bar."

"Thank you ma'am. You've been very helpful." The two Turks turned to leave.

"I take it we're paying a visit to 7th Heaven?" Rude asked his coworker.

"That would be correct, bud. There might be a clue to where she's taken Rufus." Reno started walking faster.

Rude nodded. "When exactly do you plan on calling Tseng?"

"After we search Tifa's bar. I have a good feeling; we _will_ find something to help us. Then I can confidently call Tseng and lie to him."

"That doesn't make any sense, but alright, this _is_ your plan." Rude got into the driver's seat. "I'll drive this time; I don't want to die tonight."

Curling his lip, Reno replied, "Oh ha ha. Yeah, good one, I'm a bad driver."

Rude rolled his eyes. "Just get in."


	4. The Questions

A/N: Okay, the author's note will now be at the end of the chapter so I can effectively talk about it without ruining it. ;p

* * *

The bar was devoid of people, there was a sign on the door that said "Closed due to family emergency. Thank you for your understanding."

Reno scoffed. "A family emergency, eh. Maybe she's taken off with Rufus because her biological clock is really ticking…"

Rude smirked. "As pleasant as that may sound to you, Rufus can't have a bunch of illegitimate children running around."

The redheaded Turk shrugged. "I guess. Let's see, what kinda lock they got on this thing?" He inspected the door handle and peered in through the glass of the door. "Well, it looks like we won't have to break anything." He reached into his interior jacket pocket to retrieve his lock pick pins. With muscle memory, he had the door unlocked within seconds. "Hm. Not so tough on security."

The two Turks entered 7th Heaven and gave the place a once over. "It's really small, should be easy to find some clues. I'll check the front and behind the bar, you get the back room," Reno said, closing the door behind him and flicking on the dim lights.

"Fine, but don't get any ideas about making yourself a drink. That's already got you in trouble once tonight." Rude chuckled.

Reno childishly stuck his tongue out at his coworker.

The two of them started to comb the area. Rude searched in the back room, sifting through receipt copies for anything of value to their investigation.

Suddenly, Reno yelped from the main room of the bar and there was a sound of mechanical equipment moving.

Rude stuck his bald head out of the back room. "What was that?"

"Holy shit, Rude, the pinball machine is an elevator! You think they have a dungeon down there with torture equipment or somethin' else totally weird?"

"Well, why don't you go down there and find out?"

Reno shrugged, "Okay," and he hopped down the shaft. He landed quietly on the pinball machine below, and in the dim light from above, groped the wall for a light switch of some sort. Finally finding one, he flipped it and sucked in a breath of disbelief.

Photos of President Shinra at various locations spanned the walls along schematics of the mako reactors of Midgar and news articles that covered the recent bombings of said reactors. "Rude, buddy, I think we're dealing with a terrorist group. And I don't think they were technically after Rufus. It looks like they were really after his old man and settled for him instead." He picked up a newspaper scrap. "Oh shit, we've found AVALANCHE's hidey hole! The eco-terrorist guys who've been blowing up reactors have Rufus."

Rude poked his head down the hole. "Is there anything that says where they might be right now?"

"Hang on, I'm looking." Reno's emerald eyes scanned the walls for clues to their whereabouts. There was a poster for Turtle Paradise in Wu Tai, but that was a stretch; there was no way they'd take him that far since they needed to be somewhat nearby to relay their demands. Another poster for the Golden Saucer in Corel; but that was still too far away. "Looks like they might be plannin' a vacation after this is all over."

Finally, a classified ad from a newspaper that was circled in red ink caught Reno's eye. "Help Wanted: Chocobo Farm needs tending while owners away on vacation. Please bring references. Experience with chocobos preferred. Located in Grasslands, east of Midgar and Kalm."

" _A chocobo stall would make a good makeshift prison cell in a pinch… Plus I really can't see a terrorist group looking for a part time job tending chocobos._ " Reno thought, stroking his chin.

Rude called down, "Anything yet?"

"A chocobo farm."

"…What?"

"Yeah bud, a chocobo farm! They took him out of the city, but not too far so that their demands can be filled relatively quickly. That's where they gotta be!" Reno poked his head out of the hole with the ad.

Rude took it from him and examined it. "I don't know if that's crazy or genius."

Reno hoisted himself out of the hole. "It's lucky is what it is. Come on, we gotta get out there!"

* * *

Rufus' muscles tightened as he matched the glare the other blonde man was giving him. "What exactly is it that you want?"

Cloud grabbed a stool and drug it across the stall to sit across from Rufus. "I'll be the one asking questions, not you. If you answer them correctly, I'll try to be nice. Answer them wrong, and the niceness will go right out the window."

Rufus sat stoically and leaned against the wall behind him. "Let's get this over with."

"Do you know who we are?" Cloud asked as he crossed his arms and leaned forward.

"Not really. I assume however, that part of all of this is because you want my company to pay you handsomely for my safe return?"

"Let's just say your return. I can't guarantee safety yet." Cloud said quietly. His blonde hair jutted out in so many directions, Rufus was almost worried that if he was head-butted, he'd probably be impaled on one of those spikes.

"How much longer do you think your daddy can keep this mako consumption up? Pretty soon, the world is going to cave in on itself because he's sucking all the lifeblood out of the planet." Cloud stared hard at Rufus.

"I have no idea. I haven't been to the meetings. I assume he doesn't care because it won't be during his lifetime."

"Do you care?" Cloud countered.

"I have nothing to do with any of that yet. When my old man dies, then I'll be the one to decide whether I care or not." In a fraction of a second, Rufus felt a fist slam down across his cheek, cracking his head to the side. The remnants of the migraine flooded back in full force; his head was pounding and blood trickled down his cheek where Cloud's fist had split the skin.

"I think you ought to reconsider the answer to that question, but we'll get back to that later," Cloud said calmly as he sat back down. "For now, I need a contact number. The direct line to your dad. We're gonna find out exactly how much you're worth to him."

Rufus' head pulsed with pain in sharp waves, but he stared at Cloud with a growing annoyance. "I don't have his number memorized; I don't talk to him much. You could say that we don't have a very healthy relationship."

"Aww, that's right, baby Shinra doesn't get along with daddy Shinra. Why is that exactly?"

Rufus sighed. "Possibly because I am nothing like him. We don't see eye to eye on many topics. He spends way too much money, he's way too extravagant. He worries too much about what the 'important people' think of him, of the company."

Cloud chuckled. "And you think you're different than him? You know that old saying, right? Somethin' about an apple never falling far from the tree? You think you can run that company different? Tell me, what's your philosophy, what would you do different?"

Rufus blinked and was quiet for a moment. "I suppose I don't really know. I haven't been given the option to have my own opinion yet. Everything has somewhat been imposed upon me. Is this an interrogation or a therapy session?"

"Tell you what. We'll take a break." Cloud stood up to leave the room.

Rufus' eyebrows furrowed. "A … break?"

Cloud ignored him as he opened and closed the stall door behind him.

Tifa was leaned against the opposite stall down the hall as Cloud exited. She looked at him with concerned eyes.

He walked over to her and whispered, "Did you hear everything?"

She nodded. "He seems sincere. Well, as sincere as Rufus Shinra can sound. By the way, I don't think you had to hit him." She whispered back with a half frown.

Cloud shook his head but grinned at her. "He had to know I was serious. Plus he was being snarky. Don't worry so much, I think he's pretty tough. Anyway, we need to figure out how we're going to go forward. We don't have the President like we planned, so we need to make a decision here. The President has to go, no matter what. He's the one draining the planet dry. But we do have Rufus. Do we get rid of the heir now and go for the main target next?"

Tifa bit her lip, but countered, "Or do we hope that Rufus becomes a better leader who gives more thought to the planet's well-being? Who knows, they might have someone else in the works that might share the President's viewpoints more than Rufus does if he's out of the picture."

Cloud shrugged. "I think we need to sleep on it and let Rufus sweat it out. But you can go back in there and clean his face up a little if you want."

She nodded and walked to the stall door and entered, grabbing a cloth and a glass of water on the way in. "You ok?"

Rufus looked up at her upon hearing her voice. "Yes, I am perfectly content that I am being held against my will, tied up and smelling like chocobo waste." He tried to stretch, but couldn't seem to get a range of motion to do it effectively.

She grinned. "I don't think you smell that bad. Here, let me clean up your cheek." She dabbed the cloth in the glass of water. "Usually he's a lot more rough."

He presented his cheek for her to clean, but looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "Oh, then I suppose I should consider myself lucky he only hit me once, then."

She gently touched the cloth to his cut and held it there to halt the bleeding. She grinned slightly; she was getting used to his sarcasm, but the grin dropped off her face. "Don't consider yourself lucky just yet."

"I can safely say that I am particularly fortunate that you're being kind to me in a rather dire situation. At least there's one thing." He said as he winced slightly from the sting of the cut and the pressure on the bruise that was forming there.

Tifa blushed, but thankfully it went unnoticed in the dim light. "Yeah, I guess you are pretty lucky that I'm a sap." She said with a chuckle.

* * *

A/N: Okay, so this chapter has taken a very different direction than I was expecting, but it just kinda flowed this way. Usually I write Cloud as an asshole because when I was younger, I didn't like him. But I realized that he really is just a headstrong country boy, who at times can be a little naïve, but he wasn't really insane until Sephiroth screwed with his head. He is stupid for ignoring Tifa, but I've forgiven him in my own little way, especially since I pair her with Rufus now. Cloud is still a good guy and not outright cruel.

Another thing I've been working on is pacing. I'm trying to be more detailed, and slow down so that I'm not rushing events. I've looked over my old stuff and I was horrible about rushing things. Events take time to describe, and people have long drawn out conversations. How do you think I'm doing on that front? Is the pacing good, or choppy, or too slow? Let me know in a review, please 'n thank ya!


	5. The Sweet Relief

"Hey, boss, how's your night goin'?"

"Reno, I take it that if you're calling me, then something has gone wrong. Why haven't you returned with Rufus yet?" Tseng's voice sounded perturbed.

Reno swallowed, but his mouth was dry. "Well, you see, Rufus had a bit too much to drink. You know how he doesn't like parties and stuff, right? Well, after he did what he was supposed to do, ya know, schmooze with the guests, he started flirting with this bartender, and well, he was talking to her for quite a while… I think he lost count of the number he had. So we got him out of there before anyone noticed how sloshed he was and right now we're just staying in a room at the hotel so he can sleep it off. He's passed out now, but if you think he's mean when he's sober, he's downright belligerent when he's drunk. Can't let anyone see him like that, his dad'll wring his neck."

There was silence on the other end of the line before Tseng answered, "That doesn't sound at all like Rufus."

"Hey boss, he's young, you think he wants to stay single forever? She was cute, he was interested, and he lost track of time. We've had to do this for his father hundreds of times. I'm sure once Rufus wakes up in the morning, he'll have learned his lesson."

More silence. "I am really too tired at the moment to check up on you. The only reason I actually believe any of your story is because you sound as though you are sober, and judging by the fact that you were working at a party and are still sober, then it means that you actually did your job and followed the rules for once. Just get him back to HQ before breakfast tomorrow. I'm sure his father will want to ask him how the party went."

"10-4, boss. See you tomorrow." Reno hung up the phone and looked over at Rude. "I don't think he bought the whole story, but he's not checking up on us."

Rude shook his head and sat quietly for a moment before changing the subject. "Hey, Reno, how'd you figure out the pinball machine was an elevator?"

The redheaded Turk laughed. "I wanted to see if it worked. I found the on switch and flipped it and the lights came on, but no sound was coming out, so I looked behind the machine to see if it was plugged in good and noticed another switch on the wall. When I flipped that, the whole machine just sank into the ground! Scared the bejeezus out of me, I thought the floor was collapsing or something."

Rude half grinned. "So you mean that if you hadn't been trying to play the pinball machine, you would have never found the switch that activated the elevator…"

Reno smirked, "Yeah, but neither would you." He looked out of his window at the flat country flying by. He really hoped that AVALANCHE hadn't hurt or killed Rufus. Not just for his own sake, or for Rude's, but because he actually enjoyed working for Rufus and was genuinely worried for his well-being. President Shinra, on the other hand, was an ass, cared about no one but himself and his legacy, and was an attention seeker.

And, if Reno was truthful, he didn't agree with the whole Mako farming thing. It was really refreshing to get out of the city. He lived in Midgar before the reactors were in use; at one time, there was no pollution. Nothing grew in Midgar anymore. It was always dark. And now, since President Shinra started Mako farming on a grand scale, the rich and the poor classes were growing further and further apart. Reno grew up middle class, but if he were a kid in Midgar now, his family would be living in the slums.

When he went to work for ShinRa, it was because that was where all the jobs were. His skills showed promise and he rose through the ranks quickly. He was usually on Rufus' security detail now because President Shinra didn't care for his lax attitude, but Tseng knew how good of a Turk that Reno truly was and how well he could blend into a crowd.

As Lead Turk, Tseng would never admit to it, but Reno was like a younger brother to everyone, including him; this was one of the reasons he had assigned Reno to Rufus. Rufus never had siblings, his mother died young, and his father cared nothing for him so long as he was alive. Tseng had felt that someone Rufus' age would be perfect as a bodyguard.

And now Reno felt awful. "Hey, how long you think it'll take us to get there?" he asked Rude.

"Well, once we get off the highway, probably a few hours. Plus it'll be mostly back roads. Now that we know have a location, his odds of surviving this will be greater. Though I can't imagine he'll be a happy camper. Let's just hope they haven't moved him yet."

* * *

It was starting to get late. Tifa yawned and sat down Indian style on the ground opposite Barrett and Cloud outside the barn. She looked up at the bright stars, smiling at the fact that she could actually see them. It reminded her of Nibelheim.

Barrett huffed. "I can't believe y'all're actually considerin' that little brat is ok."

There was a silence and both Tifa and Cloud shook their head. "Barrett, there are a lot of different factors at play here. If we kill him, they might just put some crazy CEO more power hungry than the president in charge. You may not see it, but Rufus is definitely not like his father. And we're hoping that means that he'll change things once we get the President out of the picture. Let's not forget that we aren't about killing innocents. We do what we have to do, but we have no evidence that Rufus has ever harmed a fly. Anything reported about his character is really fed to the media. That thing about not bleeding or crying, that's just to make the Shinra bloodline look tough. _We've_ already made him bleed enough." Tifa ventured, hugging her knees to her chest.

Cloud nodded. "She's kinda right, Barrett. I think we'll just have to talk to him. Remind him that his father is killing the planet and that he has the power to change it, to save it. And I think Tifa should do it; seems like he's warmed up to her. It won't do us any good to beat it into him."

Tifa blushed, again thankful that it was dark and went unnoticed. "I… I'll try."

Barrett harrumphed. "Fine, but if he don't listen, I'm beating the shit outta him."

Cloud chuckled. "Fair enough I suppose."

Tifa rolled her eyes.

* * *

Rufus tried to get comfortable enough to at least get in a small nap, but the aching in his hands and feet and head and face… well just about everywhere, was keeping him from that small luxury. He couldn't even kick off his shoes. And it was ungodly hot in that barn. He started to wish that someone would pour ice water over his head again.

He couldn't see his hands, but he had a pretty good bet that they were purple. He sighed, readjusted his positioning, and leaned his head against the corner of the stall again, trying to drift.

Until he heard the strange sound of something being dragged through the barn. It sounded heavy, wood scraping against the concrete foundation that served as the floor of the main hall of the barn. Getting closer, louder. Not knowing what the sound could be, his mind went wild. Was it some kind of weapon they were going to kill him with? A torture device to strap him into? He opened an eye to look at the door to his prison cell. The dragging sound stopped and he heard keys in stall door which soon slid open to reveal Tifa. He sighed with relief.

She looked over at him from the doorway and grinned. "Oh, I'm sorry, were you sleeping?"

Rufus gave her a blank, though impressed, stare. "Oh, like a rock, I didn't even hear you come in."

She laughed. "Well if you're comfortable sleeping on that stool, I guess I can put this cot back."

He looked past her to see the barest bones bed he'd ever seen. But god, it looked so comfortable. He chuckled. "Oh no, you already put so much work getting it here. You may as well leave it…"

She was already dragging it into the makeshift cell and placing it against the opposite wall he was sitting against, away from the moonlight streaming in through the barred window. She fluffed up a pillow and placed it on the cot, and laid an old but downy looking comforter down as padding. Then, she slid the cell door closed and it locked behind her.

Tifa turned to him and pulled something out of her pocket. "I'm going to give you your feet back. Don't move." She walked over to him and kneeled, opening the pocket knife in her hand to cut through the zip tie around his ankles.

There was a sudden rush to his feet, and he felt the pins and needles of his nerves firing, as if angry at being deprived of efficient blood flow.

She stood back up grabbed him at the elbow to help him up off the stool.

Rufus awkwardly stood up, stumbling on his still numb feet. More than once he faltered a step, but she was always right there to catch him from completely falling; she was surprisingly strong for the small thing she was.

When he'd finally made it over to the cot, he sat down and she pulled something else out of her pocket. It was another zip tie.

He sucked in a breath. "I'm not going anywhere, that's not necessary."

"It's for your wrists. I think Barrett tightened the one you have on too much." She sat down next to him on the cot and cut the zip tie holding his arms behind his back. "Now take off your jacket. I know you must be hot in here."

He couldn't do anything but stare at her. "You're doing everything short of letting me walk out of here. What's the endgame here?"

"I'm going to talk to you about that, but first, jacket off."

He obliged, slid the white garment off his shoulders and tossed it to the other side of the stall, but also took this chance to remove his black turtleneck, finally getting a bit of relief from the stifling heat. He got a couple of really good stretches in before she grabbed his wrists and zip tied them together, though mercifully in front of himself this time, and also at a reasonable tightness. Her grip was strong but gentle, not meant to hurt him.

Finally able to move a bit, Rufus started untying his boots. He looked out the corner of his eye at her. "Thank you." He said quietly.

She smiled at him genuinely. "No problem. I just want you to realize that we aren't bad guys. We have a goal in mind, and you kind of fell in our lap. See, we're trying to save the planet. Now before you laugh, I am actually being serious. All of your company's reactors are sucking the planet dry. Our 'endgame' is to get that to stop. We know your father isn't going to change, but we also know that you aren't anything like your father. The only way _we_ can slow down the Mako reactors is by blowing them up. It's destructive, but every time we do, the planet gets some more time to heal. Your father doesn't care that the planet is going to wither up, because he's making an empire out of his company. The truth is that our generation might not get the chance to grow old."

Rufus kicked out of his boots and planted his socked feet on the cool floor. "Well that certainly is a glum prediction of the future."

Tifa nodded and balled her fists in her lap. "But it is the truth. And I don't wanna go out like that. I want to grow old, and watch my children and grandchildren grow up and have children of their own, able to play in real sunlight. That's why I fight."

He looked over at her, seeing the emotion overcome her. "What is it that your group thinks it can get from me though?"

"You're the only one who can change it from the inside, without bloodshed. What we're doing is violent, and we know it, but it's the only way we know how... to save everyone… to save ourselves." The years of regret from the lives she had taken started to take form in tears in her eyes.

Rufus wasn't used to being told that he could help save the world, nor was he used to dealing with the emotion that Tifa was displaying beside him. But it moved something inside him, something that hadn't been stirred in a long time. She had just brought him many comforts, but he didn't know how to comfort her.

Tifa didn't give him the time to figure out how to respond. She wiped her tears and said, "Hey, are you hungry?"

He nodded slowly, still unsure as to how to handle the situation at this point.

"I'll be right back." She left the cell.

Rufus sat there for a moment, processing the event that had just unfolded. He rolled his shoulders forward, arms extended, stretching his back; then turned to lie on his back on the cot, staring at the ceiling.

He was so drained from the night's events. The comfort of the cot was a million times better trying to doze in the corner. Only this time he found himself trying to stay awake till she returned. Sleep had almost overtaken him when he heard the door open again.

* * *

A/N: I'm gonna leave it here. I think I'm back on track from where I had taken the chapter last time. Lots of interaction and conversation in this chapter. Rufus is totally confused. Will he rise up to the expectation that AVALANCHE is placing on him? WHO KNOWS?! Still working on pacing, BIG thank you for the reviews who gave mention to it with what they thought, it really does help! This is the most chapters I've ever spent describing just ONE NIGHT. Let me know what you think! Please 'n Thank ya!


	6. The Anxiety

Tifa spread some peanut butter on a slice of bread, deep in thought. She wasn't finished talking with Rufus, but she had needed a moment to compose herself. She really hadn't meant to get so emotional.

He hadn't committed to anything she'd asked him; he really hadn't said much at all, but at the very least, he was listening.

It was strange, having Rufus Shinra in a cell. She'd never given him much thought, the President seemed to keep him out of the spotlight. It was even weirder having an intense feeling of pity for him. She almost felt as though she had taken him from one prison and placed him in a dirty, smellier one.

" _I wonder if I can get him to open up more? He seems so closed off_." Tifa thought. Perhaps if she could get more insight to the type of person he was, she could convince him that his future role as President of ShinRa Inc. could be far more fulfilling.

After putting the finishing touches on the peanut butter and jelly sandwich, Tifa picked up the plate and a glass of water to take back to Rufus. It seemed really quiet; all the chocobos had finally fallen asleep. She made it back over to the stall and unlocked the door.

Rufus' head popped up off the pillow to turn to look. She smiled at him and held up the plate with the sandwich on it. "I've got some food for you." She said as she slid open the door.

There was a smile on his face, but it slowly melted, and his eyes widened. "No, wait!" he called out, which confused her for the split second before she felt sudden and intense pain and electricity jolt through her, seeming to stem from her spine. All of her muscles tensed, her body seized, she couldn't even scream. After what felt like an eternity, yet also an instant, the electric sensation subsided, her muscles mercifully relaxed, and the world went dark.

* * *

"I said 'wait', are you deaf?" Rufus said from his cot.

"You know, I really imagined this moment a little different, boss. That you might be, I dunno, kinda happy to see me. By the way, you look like shit. You okay?" Reno said as he advanced across the stall toward the cot, stepping over Tifa in the process.

"I'm fine. She wasn't a threat; you didn't have to do that." Rufus replied as Reno cut through his arm restraint.

"Not a threat? Are you kiddin' me? She's the one who drugged and kidnapped you, and now you're sitting in a shithole of a cell telling me she wasn't a threat? Rude, what's that thing called when you're you think you like your captors?"

"Stockholm Syndrome." A voice emanated from the main hall of the barn.

"Yeah, he's showing signs of Stockholm Syndrome. Do we gotta un-brainwash you? Come on, let's go." Reno helped Rufus up off the cot and Rude stepped in.

"I think it was just her and the two others. The men are subdued – I cast Sleep on them, but they won't be out for long." The tall, bald Turk picked Tifa up off the floor and threw her over a shoulder without much effort. "I've slit the tires on their car."

Rufus looked up at Rude. "We don't need her, put her down."

Reno and Rude looked at each other with confusion. "What is wrong with you? Are you still drunk? She's a member of AVALANCHE, the terrorist group that's taking out Reactors in Midgar! We need her for questioning; I doubt this is the entire team out here." The redheaded Turk was trying not to yell as he pulled Rufus out of the cell.

"No, I am very much sober. I'm giving an order, now put her down."

Rude shook his head. "I am sorry, sir, but on rescue missions, you don't give the orders, you just listen to your Turks. Reno, let's get Rufus out of here."

Reno nodded and threw one of Rufus' arms around his shoulder, despite his protests, and proceeded to drag the young blonde man out of the barn.

Outside, it was eerily quiet. Not even crickets were chirping. The air was cooler out here, but there was no wind. They eventually reached their car, which was stashed in some tall grass. Reno opened the back seat for Rufus to sit down; Rude opened the trunk to put the unconscious female inside after placing handcuffs on her wrists.

Rufus sat in the back seat with his head in his hand as the Turks geared up to leave the farm. He wasn't sure how this was going to play out, but ShinRa having Tifa in custody would not bode well for her.

Rude started the car and they were off, headed back to Midgar. It would be morning soon. Reno turned to look at Rufus from the passenger seat. "Boss, are you okay? You're acting really strange. We're _really_ lucky we found you. I had promised Tseng we'd get you home by breakfast. Oh also, to spare us all some trouble, I told Tseng you just had a little too much at the party and we couldn't transport you. But now that we have the girl, I'm gonna tell him the reason we thought you had too much was because she put something in your drink to _try_ to kidnap you. So are we all up to date on the story?"

Rufus looked up from his palm. "Are you serious? You expect me to play along with your make believe 'story' when if you'd been keeping a better watch from the beginning, none of this would have happened in the first place?"

Reno gave him a half lidded stare. "Let's not forget who followed a bartender into a backroom conveniently out of our eyesight."

"And you didn't follow me?" Rufus countered.

"To be fair, sir, your father disappears with women all the time… he just reappears after twenty minutes. You didn't. And when you didn't, that was when we followed." Rude said quietly.

Rufus felt a sudden gagging sensation. "Don't ever mention that to me again."

Reno smirked at his boss' disgusted expression. "If you can promise that you'll go with the story, no problem."

Rufus thought carefully for a moment. "If I do go along with this, you owe me a cover - both of you. I don't know when I'll need it, but you will owe me."

Reno and Rude looked at each other and shrugged. "Sounds fair," The redheaded Turk replied.

"Deal." Rude echoed.

Rufus changed the subject. "What exactly do you plan on doing with the girl?"

"Hand her over to the cell guards with the information that she's an AVALANCHE terrorist and that she attempted to kidnap you so they can question her? Oh, and make a full report to your father." Reno answered, thoughtfully tapping his chin as if he were just asked a trick question.

"No. You'll take her to the conference room on my office floor. Sit her in one of the chairs and handcuff her to the table so she can't escape. I'll question her; I already have knowledge of some of their plans. Don't tell the old man about her until I tell you to."

Reno shook his head. "This is ridiculous, boss. What did they do to you?"

Rufus shrugged. "Short of rough handling me and punching me once in the face, nothing really. And even though she kidnapped me, she also made sure that nothing worse happened to me. They weren't planning on killing me. They had even been planning to let me go, if I agreed to their terms."

Reno quirked an eyebrow. "And what were the terms?"

"I don't know. You knocked her senseless before I could find out." Rufus crossed his arms across his bare chest and sat back in his seat.

"Oh- well that's just bad timing on their part. They had plenty of time to tell you their demands." Rude ventured.

"I believe they were trying to figure out my nature first."

"You mean to tell me the terrorists were trying to figure out if you're a good guy? Ain't that counter-terroristic?" Reno scratched his head, thoroughly confused.

"I suppose it is. In any case, let me deal with the girl. We'll get everything straightened out and father won't have to find out that she actually did kidnap me." Rufus said, eyeing Reno.

The fiery headed Turk sighed before answering with, "Okay, fine. Rude, make sure you stop at a clothing shop. Boss, I'm not sure I wanna know why you're missing your shirt… and boots."

"Do me a favor and stop talking, Reno. I just want to rest until we get to Midgar. Wake me up then." He leaned his head against the window and closed his eyes, thinking about Tifa in the trunk. It was rather ironic that not but a few hours ago, he was in the very same predicament, but now was on his way back home with his captor now his captive.

Reno thankfully complied with his order and he and Rude sat in silence while Rufus was left to his thoughts and drifting in and out of sleep in the back seat.

* * *

Cloud sat up and rubbed his eyes, realizing he was on the couch in the farmhouse. " _I must've fallen asleep… Where's Barrett?"_ He looked around for his large friend and finally spotted him lying his head down at the kitchen table, snoring.

Shaking his head, he decided to check on Tifa and their prisoner. He noticed the farmhouse door was open just a crack, but Barrett was notorious for not closing doors very well.

Cloud ventured out across the small pasture, it was oddly quiet, no wind. He walked through the gate, into the paddock and through the barn doors, and it was even quieter inside. "Tifa?" he called out, waiting for a response. Something felt off.

He started to walk faster down the hall of the barn, finally coming to the last stall. The door was wide open. A couple of zip ties littered the floor, along with Rufus' jacket, turtleneck and shoes. "SHIT." It was all he could think to say, before calling for Tifa again.

He searched all the stalls, looking for places the prisoner could have hid, but realized he might be long gone, and Tifa with him.

"BARRETT!" Cloud roared, and suddenly the barn came to life with ear shattering squawking.

Cloud ran out of the barn just as Barrett was flying out of the farmhouse and they both stopped at the car. "Barrett, they're gone. He must have taken her."

Barrett pointed at Cloud. "I tol' you that foo' wasn't to be trusted! We gotta find her!" They both scrambled for the car, but noticed the tires; and in unison, exclaimed, "SHIT!"

But fortunately Cloud had an idea. "Barrett, find yourself a big enough chocobo. Our only choice is to ride. If it's just him, they can't have gotten far. But we might be able to find some tracks or something."

Barrett sighed. "I hate ridin' them stupid birds," he said as he turned to locate a larger than average chocobo.

Cloud's hands clenched into fists so tight, his knuckles turned white. "I shouldn't have gone so easy on him…" He brought his fist down hard on the trunk of the car, leaving a large dent.

* * *

Tifa's eyes opened slowly, her muscles were shaking. Realizing that she was in an unfamiliar place, she sucked in a breath, resisting the urge to scream. Her hands were handcuffed together; she used her arms to push herself up, only to find that the area she was in was much smaller than she anticipated. She slowly realized that she was in the trunk of a car and choked out a laugh despite her terror. Tifa had long been terrified of tight, enclosed spaces, but even she saw the humor of karma coming back to bite her.

After taking account of her current circumstances however, she suddenly began having a panic attack. Her chest tightened, her heart raced at the speed of the thoughts flying through her head. The hot, stale air was thick, and the sound of the road was loud. She began banging on the trunk lid with her fists, and kicking as hard as she could, hoping someone outside of the car could hear her. Breathing became difficult; she was unable to yell for help.

* * *

" _Holy shit_ , is she trying to break open the trunk from the inside? Who is this chick?" Reno yelled, holding on to the passenger side stability bar as Rude corrected his sudden swerve from the shock of the commotion coming from the rear of the car.

Rufus had a hold on the front passenger seat to steady himself. "It sounds like she's panicking. I haven't heard her scream; she might not be able to breathe." Rufus knew the effects of an anxiety attack from all of the "situation" drills his father made him suffer through. Each drill was repeated until he was desensitized of the fear of the circumstances of every scenario.

"Well then let her pass back out, I ain't goin' back there and checkin' on her." Reno said with an exasperated sigh.

Rufus shook his head and turned in his seat. Multiple outward facing dents littered the trunk lid. He eyed the center seat console pull out which lead to the trunk and yanked it open. "Hey, easy there, you'll give yourself a heart attack." He said, hoping to catch her attention. All he heard in return was frantic, ragged breathing, but at least she had stopped the kicking. Wild, bright wine eyes brimming with fear stricken tears flashed back at him from the darkness of the trunk. "Try to relax, breathe. You're going to be okay, Tifa."

"Are you nuts-" Reno started, but Rufus rolled up the privacy window screen between the front and back seats.

"Listen, can you wriggle your way over here? I might be able to pull you through so you can sit in the back seat." He put his hand through the threshold, but not too close to her as to alarm her more.

She seemed to ponder it for longer than a moment, but after giving her current quarters a second glance over, decided the back seat would be much more favorable. Using her elbows, she rolled to her side and used her legs to push herself toward the opening between the trunk and the back seat.

Rufus reached through and grabbed her shoulders, gently lifting her out.

Once she hit the open air of the cab, her breathing began to ease. Once in the safety of the back seat, she drew her knees to her chest and balled herself up against the door opposite Rufus with her head down and her hands resting on the back of her neck; finally breathing fresh air.

* * *

A/N: Okay, leaving it here. PROGRESSION. I want to point out that I currently have Rufus' standing as neutral. I haven't really delved into his thoughts on what Tifa was asking of him, I wanted to show that scene from her side, emotionally. Eventually I'll get deeper into their heads, but for now, we're just scratching the surface. Gotta build! Lemme know how I'm doing and please leave a review, it really helps me out! I love hearing from you!

Please'n'thankya!


	7. The Lies

After several long seconds of silence, Tifa lifted her head and sent a side eye glare at the young man sitting next to her. "What. The hell."

Rufus felt the glare boring into the side of his head, but ignored her hostility. "This wasn't my idea. I told them to leave you there, but unfortunately my orders are null and void in the event of a rescue mission. So here you are. I would suggest you rest until we get to Midgar. I think we are both far too exhausted to really have a civilized and productive conversation at the moment, so I will explain better once we've both had some sleep and something to eat. Does that sound agreeable to you?"

Tifa bit her lip; her mind was racing over all the horrible scenarios that could play out once they arrived at ShinRa HQ.

Rufus leaned his head against the window again, but snuck a glance at her from the corner of his eye. He sensed her apprehension. "Look, we aren't going to put you in the jail cells, if that's what you're worried about. You'll be taken to my personal floor and we'll put you in a conference room. A much better 'prison cell' than a chocobo stall, if you ask me. Now just rest." He crossed his arms over his chest.

Her brow furrowed; how could he be so nonchalant about this? Realizing she wasn't going to get any more information from him, she let loose a deep sigh and leaned her head against her own window, looking out across the flat countryside that was flying by. It was soothing, yet with every mile, she was getting closer to the frightening unknown. She was exhausted from her earlier anxiety, and even though her heart was still racing faster than it should, somehow, quicker than she expected, she drifted into a sleep.

* * *

Reno looked at Rude. "They're awful quiet back there. You don't think she killed him, do you?"

Rude chuckled. "I don't think you've been listening to him. He seemed pretty positive she wouldn't hurt him. I think you can relax. "

"I dunno man. She seems unstable." Reno countered.

"Because she was having a claustrophobic panic attack?" Rude quirked an eyebrow behind his sunglasses. "I think you're just being paranoid."

The sun was just starting to peek out from the horizon. The silhouette of the city was looming in the distance, and the smog from the pollution was beginning to roll in. The familiar musk became apparent and soon the morning light was nearly extinguished by the haze.

Reno yawned and stretched. "Good thing that today is our day off. I'm gonna sleep it away and pretend this whole fiasco was a horrible nightmare."

The countryside melted into city outskirts, with business littered about the highway. "Hey, look, there's a clothing shop."

Rude pulled the car over to park, when suddenly the privacy window rolled down. "Don't get me any cheap fabric. I'll settle for a cotton polo shirt. Make sure the boots are steel toe. Oh, and while you're in there, get Ms. Tifa a change of clothes as well." Rufus' smooth voice said quietly from the back seat.

Reno turned around to see his employer still in one piece and their prisoner passed out against the window.

Rufus was holding out his credit card. "Be quick. I'd go in myself but I'm sure they undoubtedly have a 'no shirt, no shoes, no service' policy," he said with a smirk.

Reno snatched the card away and rolled his eyes as he walked into the store.

Rude drummed his fingers absentmindedly on the steering wheel. He glanced in the rearview mirror at the unconscious female. "So boss, what's the long term goal here? I'm not quite sure I understand the situation."

Rufus shrugged. "Well it certainly is complicated. I need to have a proper discussion with her to iron out the details. You could say that I am 'winging' it, but I have an intricate plan in the works. I am aware that you and Reno believe that I've lost my mind. But I do know what I am doing."

Rude smiled. "Reno's the one questioning your sanity. I've got your back, sir. You've already proven to me that you are capable of handling the hostile situation." He said, motioning his head at the sleeping girl.

Rufus nodded at Rude.

After about fifteen minutes, Reno finally returned with multiple bags. "Here, boss. Your card." He handed Rufus the card and a bag containing a black cotton polo. "And the boots are steel toe."

Rufus pulled the tag off of the new shirt and quickly put it on. He felt human again. He began putting the boots and laced them up. He stopped for a moment and eyed Reno. "What's in those other bags?"

"You told me to get girl clothes. I have no idea what size she wears, not that I care or anything. So there are a few choices in there." Reno passed back the bag.

In the bag were a couple sizes of the same button up tunic blouse, a pair of size medium black tights, a multipack of generic medium underwear, and a size large sport bra.

"…Where you a stylist in another life, Reno?" Rufus chuckled.

The Turk turned as red as his hair. "No way! I just grew up with sisters. I figured from the way you been treating her, you wanted her to be comfortable."

Rufus was silent. "Let's get home."

Rude put the car in gear. "Yes, sir."

The Shinra's formal Breakfast was at 7am sharp, and they were running close to time. It was the only real time that Rufus and his father 'spent together', and he loathed every moment of it. President Shinra was the one that did most of the talking. But he was sure his father wanted to hear of his exploits at the party the night before.

It seemed like an eternity ago, yet it was only last night.

At long last they arrived at headquarters. Rufus had never been happy to see the place, until now. "We'll be going up the 'walk of shame' stairs, Rude." He said, chuckling. He had dubbed the VIP stairs as such because there was many a morning that his father returned from a long night and used those stairs to sneak back into the building without being seen by the public. He'd never used them himself before.

"You got it boss." Rude pulled around to a hidden alcove.

Rufus exited the car and looked in the passenger side window. "Reno, wait down here with her until breakfast starts, then bring her up the stairs to my floor."

Reno nodded. "Don't forget to act hungover."

"I won't, you've shown me what hungover looks like multiple times." Rufus said with a smirk before turning on his heel to start up the stairs.

Reno sighed as his head hit the headrest. "Smart ass."

Rufus headed up the stairs quickly, he was about to be late. Once on the main lobby floor, he exited the stairwell and managed to slide into an elevator that was closing. He pressed the button for his father's floor.

Straightening his shirt and attempting to smooth his wrinkled pants was useless. At least it would help him sell the show. He did run a hand through his hair to try to tame the mess.

Finally reaching the top floor, the bed-headed blonde took a deep breath. He walked toward the double doors where Tseng stood.

"Good mor- what in Gaia's name happened to you?" Tseng raised an eyebrow, suddenly recalling Reno's late night call.

Rufus' eyes squinted. "I guess… I guess I partied too hard last night. I've got a bit of a headache."

Tseng's eyes widened. "…Your father is waiting. I'll see you in." The lead Turk opened the door. "Sir, Rufus has arrived for breakfast."

"Finally! Show the boy in, he's late." a booming voice returned from the dining room.

Tseng stepped to the side and shook his head. "Gaia help you, sir," he whispered to Rufus as he ushered him in and closed the door behind him.

Rufus continued his squint as he stepped forward and sat down at the table. He remained silent.

President Shinra gave him a once over. "You look like you fell in the gutter, boy. Have you even showered yet?"

Rufus looked up at his father with the squint locked on his face. "I didn't want to be late. I slept in a bit."

A scowl hung from the president's mustached jowls. "I can see that. You look like shit. Are you hungover? I can tell that last night was more interesting than you're letting on."

Rufus chuckled. "You could say that." His attempt at looking as though he were tired was simple enough, he hadn't gotten any sleep in the past 24 hours, and honestly, he was on the edge of feeling delirious, which was probably why the act was going so well.

"Well are you going to tell me about it or are you going to just keep making vague responses?"

"Hang on, hang on old man, I need something to drink, I'm dehydrated." Rufus picked up his orange juice and proceeded to chug it.

The president had seemed to lose all interest in his food, which was strange to Rufus; he usually had most of his breakfast finished by now. He was staring at his son with a look that could've been teetering on rage; he was not a patient man.

He finished the last gulp with a hearty "Ahhh," and then looked back over at his father. "Awright. So I went to the gala and said hello to everyone, made nice, and listened to everyone's boring political talk. Showed my face to Mayor Domino. Then, Madam Boticella tried to hook me up with her homely looking daughter after I gave her a nice compliment. So I had a few drinks after bowing gracefully out of that awkward fiasco. Then, while I was at the bar, I met a girl. We talked for a while, and she kept saying she could out drink me." Rufus laughed. "So we had a few too many, and my Turks kindly 'escorted' me and this charming lady downstairs to a hotel room because I was becoming a bit of a verbal liability. Anyway, I think this girl runs around in Madam Boticella's daughter's ring of friends. She's got class, but she's wild."

President Shinra dropped his fork on his plate.

"That's right, old man, perhaps I'm more like you than you thought." Rufus said with a smirk, thoroughly hiding his urge to vomit

The president let out a hearty laugh. "But that doesn't explain why you look like you've been in a fight," he said, indicating the cut and bruise that graced his son's cheek.

"Oh that. Yes, it turns out that the girl's ex-beau followed her to the hotel room. I had left the room to get ice."

"Why didn't you have one of your Turks get ice?" the president quirked an eyebrow.

"Because I had just told them to take a hike for an hour. I didn't want them hanging around outside my door. So anyway, I went to get ice, the idiot sucker punched me in the face, and we scuffled. I knocked some sense into him and he took off." Rufus took a bite of his crème fraîche and chewed thoughtfully. It was awfully hard acting like he wasn't starving. He gave the old man a sidelong glance, trying to gauge his response.

The president smiled under his white and blonde mustache. "There may be hope for you yet, boy."

* * *

"This. Is. So. Dumb." Reno was making his way up the VIP stairs, one floor at a time, with the terrorist girl on his back. She was still out cold, exhausted from a night of no sleep and her earlier panic attack. He looked at the floor number as he passed another landing. Floor 15. "Only 40 more floors to go." He groaned, wondering why Rude was off the hook and he was the one lugging an enemy captive up the insane amount of stairs to his boss' floor. His legs were starting to burn.

Tifa's head rested against Reno's back, her arms, still in handcuffs, encircled him, one over his shoulder, the other around his ribcage; essentially he was carrying her like a backpack. He wasn't sure what his boss' plans were for her, but for him to make Reno go through this much work, it boggled his mind. Oh how he wished he could use an elevator – but that would be a difficult one to explain if he were spotted with an unconscious handcuffed woman on his back.

"Look, lady, you need to wake up and walk your own happy ass up these stairs." He rounded another landing and kept up his pace. "I am so looking forward to going to sleep after all this shit. UGH, this is so DUMB."

* * *

Cloud and Barrett had to slow down to give the chocobos a rest. "I will murder the whole ShinRa family if he hurts one hair on her head."

Barrett sighed. "Yeah, ya keep sayin' that. I get it. Tifa's pretty strong, Cloud. She ain't gon' go down without a fight."

"I knew she was being too nice to him. We were too trusting."

"Cloud, focus, foo'! Feelin' sorry for yo'self ain't gon' fix the problem. And I'm tired of hearin' it! We both fucked up." Barrett rubbed his forehead with his good hand.

It was going to be a very long, very annoying ride.

* * *

A/N: I feel like these chapters just keep creeping on a little longer each new one, haha. Let me know if you like the length. It was fun taking Rufus out of character for his father, knowing he was putting on a show for him. I thought it was a good idea to write Rufus catering to his father's ego (regardless of his own), because he knows how the old man ticks. How am I doing? Leave me a review and let me know how you really feel! As always, please'n'thankya!


	8. The Bargaining

Reno was dripping with sweat. He rounded yet another landing, his legs felt like burning jelly. "One… More…" Each step was a struggle. This was cruel and unusual punishment, most likely Rufus' idea of payback for his suffering.

The door at the next landing, at the top of the stairs seemed to be glowing and a chorus of angels sang in his head. Reno readjusted the dead weight for the hundredth time and started the home stretch. " _A few more steps…"_

He reached out for the door knob and pulled himself to it. He'd made it. After an hour of nothing but stairs, he'd finally made it. He wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.

Reno opened the door and poked his head through, checking to see if anyone was around. Realizing the coast was clear, he made his way quickly across the floor to the least used conference room, opened the door and slid in, turning to close it quietly behind him.

"Took you long enough."

Reno's shoulders tensed. He turned his head to the side to see Rufus sitting on the corner of the conference table.

"Do you know how many stairs there are from the ground floor to the 55th floor?" Reno questioned quietly.

"No, not particularly." Rufus replied without expression.

"Neither do I, I lost count. But it's a lot, especially with a 'probably dead' girl on your back. I'm thinking she's dead because she didn't budge the entire trip. Completely dead weight, didn't lift a finger to help." Reno said as he walked over with the hostage.

He positioned himself in front of a chair and dropped the girl's legs, bending his own so hers would reach the floor. Lifting her arm over his head, he turned around and eased her into the chair. He checked her pulse out of curiosity. "Huh. Nope, still breathing. She sleeps like a bear in hibernation."

Rufus chuckled. "It was a very long night. And we did stuff her into a trunk. Go ahead and handcuff one of her hands to the table, leave one hand free so she can reach the intercom button." Rufus placed a glass of ice water on the table in front of her while Reno complied.

"Now go on, get out of here before I find something else for you to do." Rufus smirked at the Turk.

Reno stood up straight and saluted. "You don't gotta tell me twice. I'm out. Don't call me, I'm gonna be hibernating like her." He disappeared out the door before Rufus could retort.

Rufus double checked the room to make sure everything she might immediately need was in her reach. Content for the moment, he decided it was time that he got a little rest as well. He had dismissed everyone for the day so that he could situate Tifa safely without any word getting back to his father. The 55th floor was his, and as such, he was designated his own quarters that were located there as well. He was looking forward to a shower and a much needed nap. Luckily for him, his father had been so entertained by his story and act that he had told Rufus to take the day off to recharge. He intended to take it.

He made his way to his on-floor apartment conveniently situated through his personal office and shut the door behind him with a deep sigh. The first room upon entering was the living room. To his right was a kitchen which was rarely used as he normally went down to the cafes, or had meals ordered to his room. To his left was a hallway that led to his master suite and a guest room down at the end, complete with its own bathroom.

Rufus wandered down the hallway, through his bedroom and into the bathroom and started the shower. There was plenty to think about, but he really just wanted to not think about anything at all.

The remnants of his migraine still lingered at the back of his skull, but at this point he'd become accustomed to it. He stared at his reflection in the mirror, admiring the bruise laced with the cut on his cheekbone. Coupled with the bags under his eyes and his unkempt hair, he actually had to agree with his father for once. _"I_ do _look like shit."_ He thought. He pulled the polo over his head and threw it in a hamper, then stretched his arms up high over his head, trying to get the kink out of his back from sitting in an odd position for hours.

Shaking his head with a sigh, he disrobed and entered the shower, letting the steam fill his lungs and the water rush over him.

* * *

Tifa awoke in a very dim room. The only light seemed to be coming from the windows. She noticed that she was in a fairly comfortable office chair and attempted to roll backward from the table she was against so that she could stand, only to find that her left hand had been handcuffed to the modernly decorative steel railing that lined the tabletop.

As her eyes adjusted, she noticed there was a glass of water with melting ice situated within her reach. Realizing that she was very thirsty, she grabbed the glass and chugged the water. There was also a switchboard with buttons and dials in front of her, along with a neatly written note that said,

" _When you feel that you are ready to speak, or if you need something to eat, use the keypad on the intercom to dial 5501. I will answer shortly. –Rufus"_

Tifa bit her lip nervously. So far, what he'd told her in the car had happened. He'd made sure she was put in a conference room, and not a prison cell. _"How'd I get here, anyway? I don't remember walking here…"_ Her stomach grumbled noisily.

Once she mulled over her course of action, she decided that she probably wasn't going to get anywhere just sitting there. On the switchboard, she tested a couple of the dials, finding one of them controlled the light dimmer for the room, while another switched on an overhead fan. Now that she could see the keypad, she punched in the number that was written on the note. Her heart raced as a beeping sound came from the intercom speaker.

A familiar silky voice answered, "This is Rufus speaking."

Tifa sucked in a breath and responded hesitantly. "Th… the note said I should call if I was hungry…"

"Oh, you're finally awake. You've been out all day, I was wondering if you might need medical attention. It's about 10:30pm, so yes, I can imagine you're undoubtedly starving." Rufus said.

Her eyes widened. "I was out the whole day? Why didn't anyone wake me?" She looked back toward the windows; the faint glow must have been from the lights of the city.

"After the events of last night and this morning, you were exhausted. If we are going to speak, I need you to be completely aware and coherent. So I let you rest. Judging by how long you slept, you obviously needed it. Now, you said you were hungry. What would you like to eat?" Rufus' nonchalance drifted over the intercom.

Tifa wavered for a moment, taking in the magnitude of the situation. Could she trust him? He hadn't lied to her so far. Her stomach protested again in a piercing growl.

Rufus' chuckle echoed through the room. "Was that your stomach? I'll take that to mean that you don't care as long as it's edible, right?"

She grit her teeth, she absolutely hated being at other people's mercy. "And as long as it's not poisoned." She replied coolly.

"Come now, why would I poison you? I need you. I'll be by shortly with something to eat. Sit tight."

The intercom went silent, and Tifa was alone again. What could he possibly _need_ her for? She shook her head, trying to wrap her brain around what was going on. They had completely switched places. He had somehow turned this whole thing back around on her. He could have done anything he wanted to her while she was out cold. But instead, he let her sleep, safe and alone in a secluded room that _wasn't_ a jail cell. And now he was about to bring her food. She found herself asking the same question he had asked her back in the barn. _"What's the endgame here?"_

While she waited, she leaned back in the office chair and lifted her legs onto the table and put her free hand behind her head. Staring up at the spinning fan, she wondered if Cloud and Barrett were on their way to rescue her. She pondered how they thought they were going to do that with just the two of them. Again, her yowling stomach interrupted her thoughts. "Ugh, I hope he doesn't bring anything weird like caviar, or pâté."

A knock broke the silence and Tifa yanked her feet off the table. She stayed quiet and her eyes were glued to the door, though she had no idea what she'd do if it weren't Rufus who entered.

Luckily or unluckily for her, she wasn't sure yet, it _was_ Rufus who entered the room with a plate and utensils in one hand and keys in the other. He shut the door behind him and walked over to her, setting down the plate in front of her and grabbing her glass to refill it from the water cooler in the corner.

She watched his every move like a hawk; determined to discern any malicious intent.

Almost as if sensing her eyes upon his back, he sighed. "Ms. Tifa, if I meant you harm, you know you'd be long dead by now. Relax."

She suddenly realized her white knuckle grasp on the arm of the office chair. "Pardon me for being a little tense while I'm deep in the heart of ShinRa HQ." She said curtly.

He turned around with the glass filled ice cold water and set it by her plate. To give her some room, he walked to the opposite side of the table and sat down across from her. "Fair enough. Now, eat. I know you're hungry."

Tifa looked down at the plate before her. It was some kind of baked chicken for the main course, a neat pile of potatoes au gratin and a side of steamed broccoli and cauliflower. It smelled delicious. She noticed that he had sliced the chicken up into bite sized pieces for her, so she wouldn't have access to a knife, no doubt. With her free hand, she stabbed a piece of chicken with her fork and tentatively took a bite. It was marinated and seasoned to perfection; lemon zest added a nice touch to the finish. "This is pretty good. Did you make it?" She asked between bites.

"Ah, a normal question. But no, we have a few late night bistros open at this hour on the main floor. I don't cook very often. I'd hope you enjoy it, it's one of my favorite dishes." He answered, resting his chin on his hand as he watched her eat.

It was weird to be watched while she ate, but she didn't care at the moment, the food was like heaven. She noticed that he had cleaned up; his hair was back to its precise style, slicked back, but it all but showcased the nasty bruise on his face, but he had placed a . She also noticed that he had put on a shirt; " _Too bad_ ," she thought, " _he looked pretty good without it_." She shook her head " _Down girl!"_

She gulped down more water and swallowing, looked back up at him. "So what is it exactly that you want to talk about?"

He paused, trying to formulate the speech he had earlier planned into a two sided conversation. "Back in the barn, you mentioned to me that you believed me to be different from my father. That is true. I am much different. You were right, from the inside, I can help make this world run on something other than mako, but not while my old man is alive. That is where I think we can help each other. We both want him dead, but I can't dirty my hands involving him. If anyone found out I had something to do with his death, I would never be given the reins to the corporation. But, I can get you close enough."

Tifa's heartbeat quickened. A chance to get rid of Old Man Shinra? "How?" she queried, wondering what his plan was to sneak a terrorist group close enough to the president to snuff him out.

"Well, I already know about your acting skills, you would have to pose as my love interest." He left it off there with a grin, just waiting to see her reaction.

"…" Tifa's fork clattered to the table, merlot eyes wide as saucers. "Um… I'm sorry, but can you explain that to me?"

Rufus chuckled. "Of course. You see, as my lady companion, you can accompany me to corporate functions and eventually my father will see you or hear about you, and will want to meet you. This may be a long and involved plot, and may take some time, but while you are here, you are welcome to relay inside information to your group, so long as I get the occasional favor from them."

"So basically you're asking me to be your girlfriend." She said wryly. She had to admit, it seemed like a good idea, especially to get near the President.

"Please, that word seems so juvenile. I found it difficult to come up with a word that seemed appropriate for a supposed romantic relationship." He said, rolling his eyes.

"Hm. Lover?"

"That implies a more physical relationship, doesn't it?" He replied, quirking an eyebrow.

"Hm, true. Well, at the very least, we can consider each other partners." She said, looking him in the eye.

"That's it? No rules from your end of the bargain?" He inquired.

"Well, yeah, you'll have to help me create a new identity that can be background checked, I need a new place to stay, and I'll need a weekly cash stipend, you know, to keep up appearances." She said, grinning. "Oh, and this is all under full disclosure policy. You pick up any new information, and you tell me so that I can relay it to my team so they always know what's going on."

"First things first, tomorrow morning we will start on your new identity. For my father to go for this, you will have to become a socialite. I assume you've seen enough of them to draw inspiration from, correct?" Rufus asked with a smile.

Tifa batted her eyelashes and gave a coy smile. "Of course, Darling. " This was going to be interesting.

"Good." Rufus removed his mobile phone from his pocket. "Do me a favor and call off your friends. They're no doubt on their way here and extremely upset with me for taking you with me and not leaving a note. I can't have them busting in and creating a scene." He slid the phone across the table.

She nodded. "Alright, but uncuff me first, I'm not going anywhere."

Rufus nodded and slid her the keys as well.

She used the handcuff key to unlock her bound wrist before picking up the phone and dialing a number. She pressed the phone to her ear.

* * *

Cloud brought his chocobo to a screeching halt when he heard his mobile phone ringing. They were just on the outskirts of Midgar, about to enter the city. He looked at the screen on the phone, not recognizing the number, but hoped for the best. He pressed the answer button and sucked in a breath. "This is Cloud."

Barrett rode up behind his companion, his chocobo gasping and wheezing. "Whozzat?" he asked Cloud, pointing at the phone.

Cloud raised his hand to silence the one armed man. "Tifa? Are you okay? Did that rat bastard hurt you? What does he want?" He went silent as he began to listen, and his face paled. "He wants you to WHAT?! No, I don't mean it like that, I mean – No, Tifa I'm just trying to say he's dangerous. …He's going to what? How can you be sure? … And you'll give us the intel? What kind of favors could he possibly want? Well, if you say so… Okay, okay I'll calm down. I've just been worried, okay? I thought you were gone for good and we wouldn't reach you in time. Yeah, I'll let Barrett know. Okay. Speak to you soon. Bye."

Cloud turned to Barrett who was now looking at him like he'd sprouted a second head. "She's okay. She's not technically a prisoner, but Rufus is going to help her get close enough to the President to assassinate him."

Barrett scratched his head. "Wait, I thought we were on our way ta rescue her from that Shinra brat?"

The blonde man sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "I'll try to explain it better once we get back to the bar. Come on, let's go."

* * *

A/N: An assassination plot! (GASP) Don't worry guys, there's plenty more where this came from. Hope you all had a great holiday weekend! (That is, if you celebrate the 4th of July, if not, well then hope you had a wonderful weekend regardless!) Please remember to review and let me know how I'm doing. You guys keep me going! Please'n'thankya!


	9. The Dance

"I want to make sure that we have all the details covered. I'm pretty much sold on the idea if you're willing to help us, but I have to know that I am going to be protected until I get my chance." Tifa leaned back in her chair after finishing her meal, her hunger sated, but not her curiosity.

"How do you mean? If you're wondering how safe you'll be, I already have two Turks who are aware of the situation. You didn't really get a chance to formally meet them, but they were the two men who were in the car with us." Rufus had his chin resting on his folded hands, watching Tifa mull over the plan.

"What about my team? The rest of AVALANCHE?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"They will need to lay low for the time being. They can't go blowing up reactors; otherwise my father will be caught up in meetings about all that for months and you won't get close to him. Your team has tried it their way, now we shall see if they can trust you, and by extension, me, to be able to knock the problem out at the root cause. My question, Ms. Tifa, is this: are you prepared to actually kill the old man with your own hands?" His eyes flashed for a moment, relishing the thought of that pathetic excuse of a man finally receiving his retribution.

She paused for a moment, thinking. "That man is holding the fate of the Planet and millions of people's lives in his hands. If there is one human being that absolutely deserves to die, it's him."

Rufus chuckled. "Poetic, but that doesn't answer my question. When it comes down to the exact moment you are to kill him, will you be able to go through with it? Even if he begs for his life?"

This time she didn't pause. "I'm not saying it will be easy for me, but I won't hesitate when it comes down to the wire. My father taught me that I should use my abilities to protect myself and others. Killing President Shinra definitely falls under that particular value."

Rufus raised both eyebrows, not necessarily convinced, but impressed with her fervor. "Just know that if you fail, my Turks or I may not be able to protect you from the wrath of my father. Ultimately you are the most crucial piece to the plan, and you have the most responsibility. As such, you also have the most to lose."

Tifa shook her head. "Rufus, I've seen a lot of death and loss at his hands, some very personal to me. When I signed up for AVALANCHE, I knew there were no guarantees for my life. I'm prepared to accept the consequences if I fail."

"I will give you this much, Ms. Tifa, you are a very multifaceted woman. I respect your dedication to your cause." He almost wished he had half as much ambition for a cause as she.

"Now, I'm sure you'd like to freshen up. I also have a change of clothes for you. I have a guest bathroom that you can use, and a spare bedroom. Though of course, if that makes you uncomfortable, you are free to sleep here in the conference room if you prefer." Rufus motioned toward the chairs in the room. "I will note that you're probably safer in the spare bedroom, I can't guarantee that you wouldn't accidentally be discovered here."

Tifa grinned. "A shower sounds perfect. You've just thought of everything, haven't you?" She tucked a tendril of loose hair behind her ear.

Rufus shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest. "One must think of everything when one is involved in a murder plot against their father, yes?"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, how romantic. That's almost as bad as the line you gave me about a tryst on dusty old cardboard boxes or whatever. You're going to have to work on that. I guess I will have to stay with you so I can get to know you a little better. Maybe I can help you to act like you're actually attracted to me." She said, laughing. But inside, she was wondering if he could truly pull it off.

"You won't have to worry about my acting skills, Ms. Tifa. Everything I do here at the HQ is an act. But I will say that I will have no issues acting attracted to you." Rufus said with a smirk.

Tifa's heartbeat slightly quickened with the not-so-subtle compliment. She stood up and turned around to stretch her arms, and also to hide the flush of her cheeks. "Didn't you say something about a guest bathroom?"

Rufus stood as well and nodded. "Yes. Follow me, it isn't far." He opened the conference room door and motioned for her to go first.

As they walked through the dark office, Tifa shivered. "It's creepy in here. I guess I always imagined this place buzzing with activity 24/7. It's so dark and cold."

Rufus chuckled. "Well, some floors are active at all hours, but luckily for me, my floor is a 40hr a week shift. Even the weekends are quiet on this floor, which means that we will have an easier time getting details sorted out tomorrow." They reached his office, and again, he held the door open for her.

He'd left the light on in his office so that it would be easier to see the door to his apartment. He walked over to another door as Tifa looked around.

She noted that his private office was different from the décor of the rest of the floor. It was bright, white, crisp, clean and simply modern minimalistic. Even in the conference room, it felt heavy, clunky almost, like it was trying to be futuristic, but ended up being too complicated. "So, you actually live on this floor? Wow, you can't ever really leave work, huh? I guess I'm not that different though, I live in the apartment above my bar. Unfortunately, the weekends aren't quiet at my place." She said with a laugh.

Rufus nodded as he opened yet another door. "Yes. But it's not my only home; I also have quarters in Junon. Come on."

As Tifa entered the apartment, she was stuck with the feeling of distance. There wasn't much personal decoration on the walls, no photos, neither was there much furniture, almost as though he never had guests. But it did have the same décor as his office. She wondered why his home didn't feel more like, well, a home.

She followed him down the hall and he pointed into a room.

"This is the spare bedroom; it has its own bathroom. I left the change of clothes for tomorrow on the chaise, there are fresh sheets on the bed, and there are clean towels in the cabinets in the bathroom. Let me know if there is anything else you require. After we get your identity completed tomorrow, we will get you some new apparel befitting of a socialite. If there is nothing else, Ms. Tifa, I will see you in the morning."

She walked into the room, and then turned to look over at him. "Good night," she said with a smile.

He nodded and shut the door behind him.

Tifa locked the door after he'd shut it, just in case. Not like he wouldn't have a key to a door in his own house, but if he did try anything, at least it would slow him down.

This room was just as bare of personal touches as the rest of his apartment. She shook her head and wandered into the bathroom and gasped. There was a soaking tub, large enough for two people, _and_ a separate standalone shower. She immediately turned on the bath. It had been so long since she'd been able to take a nice, hot, relaxing bath, since she didn't have a tub at her apartment. She opened the cabinets and found an assortment of bath products, including toothpaste and a brand new toothbrush. Discovering a bottle of bubble bath gel, she couldn't help but feel that Rufus' home felt more like a hotel than anything else.

As the tub filled, Tifa poured some of the bubble bath into the running water and pink suds soon started to cover the water. She wrapped her hair in a bun to keep it dry and removed the clothing that she had been wearing since the night before. Testing the water with her foot, she decided it was the perfect temperature and stepped into the bath, settling into the hot water. It felt wonderful.

She laid her head back, and stared at the ceiling, trying to grasp the reality of the plan that was to be set in motion. Rufus Shinra was currently helping her get close enough to his father to assassinate him. It was something that they mutually needed, and she was to do all the dirty work. In return, he was supposed to use his new found power to help end the energy crisis without more bloodshed. That was the only thing she was worried about. Would he keep that end of the bargain?

Tifa felt that she was a fairly good judge of character. So far, he hadn't given her any reason to doubt his word. He seemed relatively straightforward, and though he may be a bit cold, seemed to make sure that she was comfortable at every turn, even giving her options. Still, concern tugged at her.

" _I've just been worried, okay? I thought you were gone for good…"_ Cloud's voice echoed through her head. It was rare that he expressed worry for her, and she couldn't help but notice the difference in the tone of his voice when he said those words. They had been friends for almost as long as she could remember, and Cloud knew that she was more than capable of protecting herself in most situations. But the fact that he was worried about her this time struck her.

She sighed. "You can't go down that road again, Tifa. He doesn't see you like that, he really was just worried for your safety because he's your friend." she told herself.

Satisfied with her bath, she got out of the tub and turned on the shower to rinse off with cool water and wash her hair.

Feeling refreshed, Tifa wrapped a towel around her and walked into the bedroom to inspect the clothing that Rufus had mentioned. She hummed a tune as she wandered over to the piece of furniture that he had indicated to earlier, and found a pair of tights and two different sized belted tunics for the next day. An unopened package of underwear and a sports bra with the tag still on it was wrapped up in a plastic bag. With no night clothes to sleep in, she decided that the bra and undies would have to suffice; at least she wouldn't be sleeping naked in a stranger's home. She was lucky that they had even thought to buy those things.

Adequately drying her hair with the towel, she donned the new underclothes and pulled back the covers. The sheets were slick white satin; the bedspread was light cotton down. Tifa climbed into the bed, and settled into the most comfortable mattress she'd ever lain on. But as comfortable as it was, she still felt that nagging touch of uneasiness which kept her awake. Well, that and the fact that she had slept all day. She sighed and turned on the TV that hung on the wall across from the bed. Perhaps it would help her keep her thoughts occupied. There was nothing else she could do tonight.

* * *

After he'd explained what was going on as best he could to Barrett, Cloud settled at one of the tables with a drink. Barrett had gone to lie down on Tifa's hide-a-bed couch upstairs, as he was thoroughly fatigued from the long chocobo ride from the farm.

Cloud swirled his whiskey over the ice in his glass, deep in thought. Tifa should have fallen back when she realized that the President wasn't at the party. She shouldn't have taken Rufus. They had let the plan deviate, and now were completely surrounded by unknowns, Rufus being the biggest one.

They didn't have enough information on him to make any sort of profile on him; all he knew was what he'd seen back at the barn. And while Rufus had mostly passed Cloud's intentions test, there was one thing that still stood out, something that made Cloud uneasy. Rufus still seemed largely undecided in the way he was going to run the company after his father died.

And now he had Tifa. Cloud had been given no guarantee of her safety; she'd only told him the base details of the plan. And it seemed that she had not given him a choice on the matter. He did trust her judgment, and knew she could protect herself, but she could be too forgiving sometimes. He just wished he could keep an eye on Rufus to make sure he would keep his word, and to make sure that he wasn't using this as an excuse to have Tifa as a 'hostage' or worse, his own personal plaything.

Cloud didn't like the fact that he had no control of the situation. Not at all. He knocked back the whiskey, feeling the burn of the alcohol all the way down into his stomach.

* * *

Rufus had chuckled to himself when he heard Tifa lock the door. Even if it offered her little protection, she was still taking steps to give herself a little more of a defense. _"Good,"_ he thought, " _she'll need to stay on her guard at all times while she's trying to pull this off."_

He went to his room to get ready for bed. He had put on his pajama pants, climbed into bed and was staring at the ceiling when he heard the shower turn off. It was odd hearing someone else in his apartment; he was so used to the silence. The two bedrooms were right next to each other. He soon fell asleep to the sound of her soft humming.

The next morning, Rufus awoke to something strange. He could smell food. He sat up and looked around, got out of bed and put an undershirt on before leaving his bedroom to investigate. He walked down the hallway, still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Upon his entrance to the living room, a cheerful voice said, "Good morning!"

Tifa stood in the kitchen, seemingly cooking breakfast. She turned to look at him, holding a spatula. "You know, you don't have a whole lot of stuff to eat here. I had to improvise. I found eggs and I found bread. So, we're having French toast and eggs. I hope you like 'em scrambled!"

Rufus blinked. His apartment smelled amazing. "I do, actually. Are you a chef of some kind?"

She laughed. "Well, I do cook appetizers at the bar, but I'm not a trained professional or anything. My mom taught me to cook."

Rufus sat down at the bar. He noticed that the clothes that Reno had picked out suited her shape well.

She grabbed a plate and loaded some French toast and eggs onto it before setting it down in front of Rufus on the bar. She also grabbed two glasses and poured them some orange juice before making her own plate and sitting down across from him.

Rufus cut into the French toast and took a bite. "Wow, a home cooked meal made from ingredients you found in my kitchen. I'm impressed." He said, savoring the flavors.

"It's really easy to make, no big deal." She replied, waving her hand.

"I can assure you that most of the women I've ever met couldn't boil water. They're rather useless, honestly. Most of them are only good at spending someone else's money. Every now and then I run across an intelligent one, but those are the ones who scheme and trick and con everyone around them. And they all seem to have an odd sense of humor." He said before taking another bite.

"Oh come on, you mean to tell me you haven't ever met one well rounded, emotionally stable, thrifty, intelligent woman who can cook?" Tifa laughed. "You poor bachelor. No wonder you keep to yourself. I now understand why you hate attending those parties." She said with a grin.

"You're very observant. Good. You'll need that. I should ask: do you have any other talents, other than martial arts and cooking?" His icy blue eyes peered into her merlot colored ones.

Noticing he was asking a serious question, she thought for a moment. "I can play the piano."

"Good, that is a skill that can be used… How about ballroom dancing?" He asked.

Her brow furrowed. "Uh…"

"You know, like a waltz, a foxtrot, a tango?"

"I'm going to have to dance?" she asked tepidly.

"You may, we will be going to high society soirees. I think you would pick it up quickly; it isn't much different from martial arts footwork. Plus, you look like you're a quick learner." He replied. "No one is asking you to become a ballet dancer. Simply to learn a few dances just so you'll blend seamlessly."

"Can you teach me?" she queried, raising an eyebrow.

He swallowed the last bite of his breakfast. "I suppose I could." He stood up after taking a gulp of his orange juice and walked across the living room to his entertainment center. He plucked a CD off the shelf and pushed it into the CD player. He walked back over to where Tifa was sitting and with one arm behind his back, he bowed, offering her his hand.

She giggled; this was like something out of a sappy romance movie. She took his hand and followed him to the center of the living room.

Rufus placed her hand on his shoulder and placed his own at the small of her back.

A song started playing, one she recognized from playing piano.

He looked down at her and said, "This is a waltz. You hear the beat? One two three, one two three. Now each step is on a beat, and you'll end up making a box shape with the steps. Just mirror my steps."

Tifa looked down at their feet to watch. She giggled again, Rufus Shinra was teaching her to waltz in his living room, in his pajamas. Never in her weirdest dreams did she ever imagine this happening. She reflected his steps, and soon they were moving in time with the music in sync. He was right, this wasn't that difficult.

"Now try it without looking at your feet." He said, bringing her chin up with a finger to look at his grinning face.

She blinked, a little thrown off, but managed to catch on again, only stepping on his bare foot once.

"See, now you know the basic waltz." Rufus said, chuckling.

Their dance lesson was suddenly interrupted by a buzzer. Startled, Tifa jumped.

Rufus turned off the music and walked over to the intercom to look at the security monitor. Reno and Rude stood at his office door. "Hm, Reno actually woke up early for a change." He pressed the button to let them in.

* * *

A/N: And I'm going to leave it here for now. I figured a little close contact between the two main characters might sate the fluff appetite, or I guess it could make it worse. They're both still unsure of each other, but little by little, they're gaining each other's trust. Still trying to keep thing going on a slower pace than I normally would. I'm still trying to figure out how to write Cloud, so bear with me on that front. Hopefully he's believable for those Cloud fans out there reading this. Thanks for sticking with me this far, I still got lots more coming! Catch ya next time!


	10. The Money

Rude entered the apartment first, Reno following closely after. Once they had arrived in the living room, Rufus sat down at the bar.

Reno nearly hit the ceiling upon seeing Tifa sitting on the couch. "I thought she was handcuffed in the conference room? How long has she been here without a security detail, boss?"

Rude chuckled behind his fist, trying to disguise it as a cough.

Tifa's eyebrows furrowed. "Do I know you?"

Reno's lips drew back in a thin line. "Well we did spend about an hour or two of quality time together yesterday when I carried your unconscious ass up 55 flights of _stairs_."

Tifa blinked. "Oh, so that's how I got up here. Kudos to you; your legs are probably sore today, huh? Sorry about that."

Not expecting that response, Reno turned his head and stayed silent, trying not to pout.

"Tifa, this is Reno and Rude, my Turk security detail. They are going to help us set up your new identity, your history, and your credentials." Rufus said as Rude handed him a file folder.

"We need to create a new city ID badge, a new passport, anything that requires her picture." Rude said quietly.

Everyone joined Rufus at the bar to discuss the details. After about forty-five minutes of debate and Rude taking notes, they seemed to be making progress.

Rufus began weaving the false past. "Alright, so your name will be Tiffany Duciel, but of course, we will still call you Tifa as your 'nick-name'. This will ensure that you always answer when someone is speaking to you. You grew up in Costa del Sol; your parents, Roger and Celeste, came from old money, still making royalties off land that was sold to the people who built the Golden Saucer long ago. They tended not to play the social game, and instead traveled all over the world. Unfortunately, they were assumed killed during the events of the Nibelheim disaster, though their bodies where never recovered."

Tifa chewed on her lip, but said nothing in response. She didn't mention that her father actually had lost his life that day. But it only strengthened her resolve, as it would make it easier to play the part if she were asked about it.

Noting her demeanor change, Rufus continued. "You were in school when they disappeared, and you were given charge of their affairs when you turned 18, and since then, you have followed in their footsteps, staying out of the ring of society for the most part, finished up school, and are just starting to travel. Don't be surprised if someone tells you that they believe that they remember your parents, many social climbers do this to gain your trust and seem more familiar."

Tifa quirked an eyebrow, but bid Rufus to finish.

"Reno and Rude will make the necessary additions to Nibelheim and North Corel's files, as well as the files here at HQ on those events. It's been done before, and Rude has perfected the art of changing history on paper." Rufus sat back and crossed his arms, trying to judge Tifa's thoughts.

She nodded and looked around at their small group. "I think all the technicalities are taken care of. My past is accounted for, but how about my present? How did we meet?"

Reno rolled his eyes. "Don't ya remember? You two met at the Midgar Charity Gala the night before last. No debutant will remember the bartender, but they will remember that Rufus Shinra did go missing fairly early from the party."

"Geez, people really care about every detail of your life like that?" Tifa queried.

Rufus chuckled. "My father has kept me hidden, so if I'm spotted at a function like that, there are usually a lot of people who notice. Plus it _was_ rather rude of me to disappear like that without at least thanking the host for his hospitality…"

Tifa blushed sheepishly. "Ok, ok, I get it." She looked over at Rude. "You don't talk much, do you?"

Rude straightened up at being addressed by the young woman, but stayed silent.

Reno laughed while Rufus smirked behind his fist. The red haired Turk nodded. "Yeah, the big guy doesn't say a lot, but he's also a little extra shy around the ladies."

Rude glared at Reno from behind his sunglasses.

Rufus clapped his hands together. "Alright, Rude, Reno, you two are on records duty. Get to it; report back to me by 5pm with your progress. Tifa and I will be shopping for her new wardrobe."

The Turks nodded and stood up, about to head out the door when Reno turned around. "Oh, almost forgot, we need a picture to put on all your IDs." He took a small camera out of his pocket.

Tifa ran her hand through her hair and stood against one of the bare white walls.

Reno aimed the camera, mumbling "Say cheese!" He snapped a couple of pictures, front and side profiles. "Good to go."

Rufus closed the door behind them. "I'm going to get dressed, and then we'll be on our way."

Tifa nodded and headed back to the kitchen to clean up. It was a lot to take in, a brand new life to portray to the elite of Midgar. She washed both the plates and dried them, then turned her attention to the frying pan.

She really hadn't given much thought to the actual relationship part of the deal. Could they really pull off air of good chemistry between the two of them? Tifa couldn't deny that she found Rufus to be quite handsome. Something about his eyes just drew her in. But it was also going to be a little bit difficult to shake the feeling of slight distrust, considering he was the son of her faction's sworn enemy.

She was shaken from her thoughts when a voice whispered in her ear, "Are you read to go?" Resisting the urge to swing the frying pan in her right hand, she turned to see Rufus adjusting the wrist cuffs on his jacket.

He took the frying pan from her hand slowly and chuckled. "Don't be so jittery."

"Well, don't sneak up on me." She said, crossing her arms.

"Duly noted. I will not sneak up on an unsuspecting black belt, especially with a frying pan in her hand. We really should be on our way." He put the pan back in the cupboard. "By the way, you didn't have to clean up; the housekeeper should be by before lunch time."

Tifa started to follow him out the door. "Well, I _am_ a guest; it is considered courteous to clean up after oneself, is it not?"

Rufus laughed. "Are you practicing your elitist dialogue? Well done. You'll do just fine speaking with all the puffed up airheads."

Tifa grinned. "I actually was just copying you, but if the shoe fits…"

Rufus stopped short and turned his head to look at her, a smirk played across his face. "Oh, now you think you're amusing, don't you? "

She continued grinning and clasped her hands behind her back. "My dear Rufus, I _know_ I'm amusing."

He pressed the call button for the elevator and shook his head. "We'll see how amusing really you are when you're under pressure."

"Wow, your bruise is healing up fast. I can barely see it." Tifa noted, genuinely surprised at its disappearance.

"I've always been a quick healer; besides, it wasn't as bad as it looked."

The doors opened, and he beckoned for her to board first as he followed her in and pressed ground floor button. "We're going to visit a few shops on the upper plate; hopefully they'll have what we're looking for."

Tifa watched the city from the glass of the elevator. The sun barely shone through the haze, but from their current height, it was the brightest she'd seen it from anywhere inside city limits. The further they descended, the dimmer the light became. It was almost as if they were being swallowed by the atmosphere of the metropolis itself. "And what exactly are we looking for?"

"We're looking for tasteful clothes that will get you noticed. The more my father hears about you being seen with me, the more he'll want to meet you." Rufus said. He was leaning against the glass with his arms crossed over his chest, uninterested at all in the view the elevator provided.

Once on the ground floor, Rufus directed Tifa to a side entrance where a car was waiting for them. The driver opened the door for them and they both slid into the back seat.

Tifa looked out the window. "I've never shopped on the upper plate before."

"I wouldn't have assumed you have, considering there aren't any armor or equipment shops there." He replied indifferently.

She rolled her eyes and cut him a sidelong glare. "Just so you're aware, I may be part of a fighting rebel group, but I am still a woman. At one time I did have a lot of pretty things. My family may not have been _rich_ , so to speak, but we lived comfortably." She rested her chin on her fist, looking out the window again.

Suddenly aware that he'd touched a nerve, Rufus held his tongue, expecting her to continue her story, but she remained silent after that. Apparently he'd touched a _big_ nerve. Choosing to let that topic fade, he decided to start a fresh conversation. "Have you reported to your friends? I know you spoke with them last night, but that seemed a bit swift."

She sighed and he could see her eyebrows furrow in the reflection of the tinted window. "I tried calling Cloud this morning, but I only got his answering service. Either he's upset with me or he's still asleep."

Rufus looked at his watch. "Well, judging by the day he'd probably had, I'd put my money on the latter. It is only 9am, and if he was up last night worrying about you after trekking across the countryside the whole day, he's probably in a bit of a coma at the moment."

Tifa turned her head to him and smiled. "Wow, you've got his personality down. How could you possibly know that about him?"

"I did a little research on him yesterday while you were sleeping. I see you two have more history than you let on."

Her smile faded as she looked at him and she slowly faced forward.

He could hardly contain his puzzlement, he'd expected her fiery wit to smite at him again, but she said nothing. Apparently he'd found another nerve. "I take it you two aren't as close as you'd like though." Her additional silence only served to answer his question. "I see." He made a mental note about those two topics and filed them away for later conversation. She wasn't comfortable speaking about them now, clearly. He decided to keep his mouth shut lest he stumble over some other emotional baggage she seemed to harbor.

Tifa turned to him again but this time she had a rather angry look on her face. "Did you dig up any interesting dirt on me or my friends? I hardly think that's fair, you don't have any records that I can search up."

He chuckled lightly. "Is that what you're upset about? Come now, I had to know what I was getting into before I proposed this deal to you. I simply wanted to confirm your intentions. And besides, anything you'd like to know about me, all you need do is ask. I have nothing I need to hide from you."

The anger seemed to dissipate for the moment. "I'll make a list of questions then." She said quietly, still lost in thought.

They soon arrived at a large shop and Tifa was floored when they entered the doors. It was beautiful. Gorgeous dresses, ranging in styles from casual to VIP formal, adorned mannequins along the walls.

As soon as they walked in, they were greeted by a very tall man in a very expensive looking suit. "Sir, ma'am, what can I help you find today?"

Rufus smiled at the salesman. "My lady friend here is new to Midgar and is in dire need of a new wardrobe. I'm also hoping to get her fitted for a custom made formal dress. Is the tailor in?"

The salesman nodded. "But of course. We'll get her all measured and once we have her sized, we can start from there. Ma'am, would you please follow me? Sir, there is an espresso machine in the lounge if you'd care to wait there while we get her fixed up?"

Tifa followed the man to the back of the store where a striking middle aged woman with reading glasses perched precariously on the tip of her nose was laying fabric on a workbench.

"This is the tailor. She will take your measurements and bring you back out on the floor when she is finished." The salesman motioned for Tifa to walk over to a stepstool stationed in front of a full length mirror, then whispered something in the tailor's ear before removing himself from the room.

"Oh wow, you have awesome proportions! Most of the girls that come in here are skinny wretches who don't eat. It's hard to enhance a woman's curves when the woman doesn't have any. Oh, and such toned arms! The designer and I will have fun creating a dress for you!" The woman walked over to Tifa with a fabric tape measure.

"Uh, thanks I guess." Tifa said with a smile.

"No, thank you for coming in, he'll be grateful for a real model to design for!" The woman exclaimed as she started wrapping the tape measure around various parts of Tifa's anatomy and hastily scribbling down the measurements. "Do you mind if I take your picture, for the designer to look at?"

"Um, sure. Whatever helps." Tifa had never really been in this particular situation before, and had never had clothing made especially for her. She also wasn't used to strangers complimenting her shape.

The woman took photos from many different angles and smiled at Tifa. "Awesome, do you have a favorite color?"

Tifa shrugged. "I do like blue, like ocean and sky blue."

The tailor nodded. "Great, those colors will look perfect with your skin tone. I think we're all done, I'll give your measurements to our floor manager and he'll help you get started on a creating a new look, and the designer and I will get started on a custom dress made just for you!"

Before long, Tifa was trying on different outfits and modeling them as Rufus and the salesman discussed different types of events that she would need ensembles for. She felt amazing, the salesman was an expert at finding clothing that complimented her shape, and she loved almost everything he'd picked out. She was a little overwhelmed by all the attention, and even more so that none of the articles of clothing had any price tags on them. She almost feared going to the register with Rufus.

Rufus leaned against the counter as the salesman rung up their haul. "All right sir, your total is 20,500 gil. Will that be on credit?"

Tifa had to physically hold her jaw closed by covering her mouth with her hand. That was more money than she made at 7th Heaven in six months.

Rufus nodded and nonchalantly handed him a credit card. And just like that, the purchase was complete. He looked at Tifa. "Alright, we have your clothes, now all you need is shoes and jewelry."

Tifa felt giddy and faint. They weren't done? He was going to spend even _more_ money?

"Don't look so surprised. There are people in this city who spend this kind of money every day, and for much less important things. Come on, on to the next store." He gave her a grin.

* * *

Cloud stared up at the ceiling from Tifa's bed. His head pounded a bit from a slight hangover caused by his intake the night before. It definitely didn't help his mood. Slowly, he sat up and glanced at the bedside clock. 10:30am. "Damn, that's later that I wanted to sleep. I hope Tifa hasn't tried to call…"

He flipped open his PHS to see that he did indeed have a missed call. His heart sank. He checked his answering service, praying that she was alright and that she wasn't in dire need of rescuing.

Tifa's cheery voice floated from the phone. "Hey Cloud, it's Tifa, just checking in, wanted to make sure you knew I was still alive since we last talked last night. Sorry I was so hasty in trying to explain everything to you, but this is a massive opportunity. Please don't worry about me, I can handle this. I'll let you know if I start to have any issues. Keep an eye on Barrett for me. I'll call back soon."

Cloud's brow furrowed. He hoped she was right, that she could handle this. But at least she was safe for now, she sounded upbeat, almost excited about something.

He stood up and stretched, scratching the back of his head. He wondered if he'd be able to get Barrett to lay low for the time being.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the delay guys, l had been doing pretty good at the update a week thing, but last week I was out of town on business and my hotel didn't have free wifi. This chapter is a bit 'filler-y' but I wanted to capture some of the preparation and how far Rufus is going so far to get Tifa primed for their scheme. I have some interesting plans coming up, don't worry! I hope you guys like longer stories! I'm still working on pacing, and am still working on detail; hopefully those improvements are showing through in my writing. Don't be afraid to tell me if you don't like something, I like constructive criticism! Of course I enjoy hearing about the things you like as well. Until next time!


	11. The Past

Rufus and Tifa entered his apartment after a long day of shopping. Rufus had made sure that a steward from downstairs was to bring a cart with all of their purchases up.

Tifa flopped down on the living room couch. "I am completely exhausted."

The blonde vice president shook his head. "I hope not too exhausted to go to dinner? I booked a reservation at a quiet spot at one of the VIP cafés downstairs. I thought we could freshen up and then go eat, and you can start asking me those questions you've been compiling all day."

The young woman sighed contentedly. "That, I can handle. I _am_ going to have to get to know you a bit better before I can pretend to have a relationship with you."

"Good, we'll leave here in about 45 minutes. The steward should be here with your new things shortly. Oh, and tomorrow, I will have Reno and Rude find you suitable housing, something pre-furnished so you won't be in need of anything." He removed his jacket and draped it over his arm as he looked towards her.

She smiled at him. "You know Rufus, I know that everything you've done to make this work so far has been to make sure the plan is successful, but I wanted to thank you for letting me feel like a girl again. I've been so caught up in our cause that I forgot that I needed time to do something for myself, and today was actually really fun."

Her gratitude almost threw him off again. She wasn't thanking him for all the nice things; she was thanking him for helping her focus on herself for once. This was a bit unusual to him; he really hadn't expected any thanks at all, considering this was all part of their charade. Was she truly not used to receiving that much attention? Not really knowing how to respond, he simply nodded his head.

She seemed to notice his apprehension at answering and laughed. "Alright, I'm starving; I'm going to go get ready." She stood up and padded down the hall to the guest bedroom.

Rufus glanced at his watch. He was expecting a status report from Reno any minute, and he wanted to make sure that everything had gone as planned. It was almost 5, and their dinner reservation was at 6. He was eager to make sure that her files were in place before they risked being seen in a more intimate setting together for the first time.

A knock at the door jarred Rufus from his thoughts, and he opened it to let the steward wheel the cart in with their day's purchases.

The steward rolled the cart into the living room and against a wall. "Just call when you are ready for me to pick up the cart, sir." He looked at the numerous bags and smiled at his boss. "Whoever she is, I hope she's worth it!" He quickly bowed his head and exited the apartment after receiving a quirked eyebrow from Rufus.

As the door closed, a familiar ringtone rang out. Rufus answered, "Did everything go smoothly?"

Reno's voice sounded bored. "Course it did, it's not like you sent us on some life threatening mission that's actually interesting or nothin'."

"Just get back here as quickly as you can, Tseng will be wondering about your whereabouts soon. We're going to dinner, and your check in report with him is at 7."

Reno yawned over the phone. "Yeah, yeah, we're already on our way back. Should make it there with plenty of time to spare. You were just shopping for some new turtlenecks today, right?"

"And a new watch. Send me a text when you've checked in with Tseng." Rufus closed his phone and walked down the hall. "Tifa?" he said, knocking on the door.

"Hang on, hang on…"

He heard the door unlock and she opened the door a crack, hair wet and wearing a terrycloth robe. He took a step back to ease her mind about his intentions. "Your clothing has arrived."

"Oh good. I think I know exactly what I'm gonna wear." She eyed him a second and opened the door fully to go into the living room to rifle through the bags.

Rufus walked into his bedroom to choose a more casual comfortable garb. He certainly wouldn't want the dinner to come across as a simple business meeting.

He looked at the full length mirror in his closet door; he could barely even see the wound on his cheek that had been so prominent before. Whatever it was in those 'vitamin' shots his father ordered him to take, they seemed to make him heal even more rapidly than before. He slicked his blonde hair back and picked out a long sleeved black satin button down shirt. Satisfied with his appearance, he left his room, hearing a hair dryer as he passed by the guest bedroom.

He still had 15 minutes to kill, so he grabbed his laptop and did an online search for Tifa's new persona, just to double check that it would come up.

As he expected, a few hits came up from the information that Reno and Rude had planted, but she still seemed largely mysterious, which is the effect that Rufus had wanted to make sure she had.

As he checked on his Turk's work, he heard Tifa's door open again.

"How do I look?" she said, something a bit different in her tone.

Rufus looked up from his laptop; she was wearing an amethyst colored, knee length, sleeveless wrap dress that hugged in all the right places. The color of the dress complimented her dark brown hair, which was styled in a half up-do; the rest of her long, thick tresses rested around her shoulders. She had even put on a little makeup; her wine eyes brightened under a bit of jade green eye shadow, cheeks just a tad flush, and a little gloss made her pouted lips even more sumptuous.

He must have underestimated the amount of time he had spent looking at her, because she smirked and said, "Wow, take a picture, it'll last longer. I do clean up pretty nice, don't I? If I made _you_ speechless, I must be doing something right." She chuckled.

Rufus cleared his throat. "That you are. You look great. Are you ready to go?"

She smiled and nodded.

It didn't take them long to reach the café downstairs, the host seated them and the effect was almost instantaneous. Employees and people that had been conversing and eating were suddenly whispering to each other and stealing glances at the two seated toward the back of the restaurant.

Tifa's eyes darted quickly around the room. "Wow. I had no idea your life was like this."

Rufus shrugged. "You get used to it. It really only happens here in the HQ where people recognize me the most. Like today in the shops, typically only the store employees make it a point to know the richest people in town. But, since I've stayed out of the limelight, most people outside of ShinRa Inc.'s social circle don't know what I look like anyway." He had grown used to the feeling of so many eyes upon him; he forgot what it felt like to experience it for the first time. But he watched as Tifa took it in stride, and acted as if she was unaware of the hushed tones whispering about them.

She laughed and looked at him with smiling eyes. "Well, if you're used to it, then I'm used to it."

Those eyes were so warm, so full of life. Her full attention was on him, and she acted as if they were the only two people in the room. She almost made him feel like they _were_ the only two people in the room.

Until the waiter came to the table for their drink order. Rufus ordered a glass of cognac and Tifa ordered a glass of wine.

"Didn't you have some questions for me?"

She grinned. "I'm getting there. Just don't get upset with me if I ask you some personal questions since you looked at the personal details of my life."

He nodded in agreement. "Sounds like a fair trade."

"Alright, let's get the little questions out of the way first. How old are you, when is your birthday, and what's your favorite color?"

Rufus chuckled, and shook his head. "I am 24, my birthday is the 8th of December, and I don't really have a favorite color."

Tifa nodded with a grin. "Well, that explains all the black and white clothes. Okay, where did you grow up?"

"Well, I was born in Nibelheim, at the Shinra family mansion, we lived there till I was about 7 or 8 or so, then we moved to Midgar. My teenage years, I was a bit rebellious, and my father put me on 'special assignment' in Junon to keep me out of trouble. Now, I go back and forth between running the Junon office and working here in Midgar." Rufus took a swallow of his cognac and watched as Tifa's fingertip gently circled the rim of her wineglass.

"You were rebellious? I can't even imagine what that must have been like." She chuckled, then sipped her wine, her face suddenly turning serious. "So what really happened to your mother?"

"Ah, mom- I don't really remember much of her, sadly. I always had nannies growing up; I remember she was very sick at the end, and I was still very young. Professor Hojo was a constant visitor to the mansion in Nibelheim to give her medicine, and routine checkups. If I remember correctly, she died when I was 5. There are portraits of her at the mansion; she was a very lovely woman. I did try to dig into her past a bit, but my father seems to have had most of the files destroyed because they are mysteriously missing. A bit fishy if you ask me, but it was such a long time ago. I wish I could say I missed her, but..." Rufus shrugged vaguely. "It's just been me and my old man for so many years, I just got used to his imbecilic orders. One of the reasons that I'm so very careful with my words is because I would get smacked in the back with this old walking cane he had every time I back-talked or made a snide remark about his stupidity. He knew he couldn't hit me in the face. The man has a lot of pride, and he lets nothing get in the way of that pride. I wouldn't doubt he had something to do with my mother's death; it was probably cheaper to off her than to publicly divorce her."

Rufus casually ordered food from the returning waiter and looked at Tifa, who was still looking at the menu. "You should try the duck, it's very good here."

Nodding silently, she smiled up at the waiter and looked back at Rufus. "That does sound good." Once the waiter had left, Tifa's expression changed. "Seems to me that your childhood was not as storybook-like as most would think it was."

He shrugged again with a slight smirk. "I was never depressed, if that's what you're thinking. As far as I know, I've grown up without manifesting any mental or social disorders."

She put her hand on his. "Well, that's a relief. Still, you're probably somewhat emotionally scarred from the abuse you had to put up with. It's hard to be normal when the people who were supposed to protect you, beat you instead."

Her hand felt so soft on his. There was a strange feeling of comfort radiating from her touch. "I guess you could say that my emotional range is pretty shallow. I remember fear and anxiety a lot when I was younger, so much so that I think I just got used to them. Anger and frustration, I learned to suppress. I wasn't ever allowed to be angry."

Tifa was biting her lip while she listened. "That actually makes a lot of sense. You are definitely kind of hard to read in your kind of emotionless nonchalance. It's thrown me off a couple of times."

He chuckled. "Well, I'm glad you're getting to understand my character. I'd say your list of questions was a success." He studied her face, trying to get a read for what might be going on through her head; she had a very pensive look that furrowed her brow.

Her eyes found his again after the short silence, and the waiter returned with their food. She shrugged. "I've never had duck, so this better be good, mister."

Rufus smiled. "I know you'll enjoy it."

The two continued with small talk while they ate, and enjoyed another round of drinks before deciding to call it a night. Rufus stood from his chair and walked over to her and offered his arm. "Shall we?"

He caught her blush as she reached for his arm and stood to walk out of the café with him.

The sea of eyes seemed to reappear in that moment, watching their every move.

Grinning, Rufus took Tifa's hand and kissed it before resting it back on his arm.

The room was so quiet; they could hear a pin drop.

* * *

Tseng stood in front of Rude and Reno, shaking his head. "What is Rufus up to?"

Both Turks stayed silent as they looked at their Head Turk.

"First he comes home looking like gutter trash and attends breakfast like that, and today he spends all day shopping for new _turtlenecks_?" The tall, dark haired man said.

"And a watch." Reno added while Rude nodded.

"What's even stranger is that President Shinra actually seemed _pleased_ with him after their family breakfast. I have a feeling he's up to something, I just can't place my finger on what yet." Tseng shook his head.

The red headed Turk shrugged. "Who knows? We'll probably find out soon enough. He hasn't acted weird to us yet, but we'll make sure to report to you if anything fishy turns up."

"Do you know where he is now?" the Head Turk queried after a long drawn out sigh.

"Sir, he told us he was planning on going to dinner at the VIP café at 6." Rude answered.

Tseng quirked an eyebrow. "By himself? He never goes down to the café to eat. He usually gets food delivered to his apartment."

"He didn't divulge that information to us, sir. He was pretty keen on going by himself though." The bald Turk replied.

Tseng sighed again. "Keep a close eye on him. Try to catch any plans he makes outside of the times that you're on duty."

Both Reno and Rude saluted. "Yes sir."

* * *

Cloud had never felt so useless in his life. He wasn't used to waiting around for information, sitting on his hands.

"Yo, foo', ya look like ya dog died."

Cloud glared at Barret from the corner of his eye. "What's she expect us to do all day? How long's this supposed to take?"

"You know this ain't gon' happen overnight! She gotta have time to establish herself wit' all those rich people." Barret waved his gun arm around to emphasize.

"Alright, but eventually we'll need to check on her. I have to visually see that she's okay. We'll see if she can do that the next time she calls. Maybe once a week, we'll meet up with her." Cloud rested his chin on his arms which were crossed on the table in front of him.

"In the meantime, we need to get dis place back to pristine condition. We gon' open back up and start makin' money while Tifa's working. You know how to bartend?" Barret scratched the back of his head.

Cloud laughed. "A little, but I don't know if I'd make as many tips as Tifa does."

Barrett shook his head. "Yeah, you definitely ain't as peppy as she is."

There was a knock at the door and both members of AVALANCHE went silent.

Cloud looked through the window by the door. He had a puzzled look on his face as he unlocked and opened the door.

A young woman with a long brown braid tied up in a pink bow walked through the door. "Hi there, my name is Aerith Gainsborough. Are you hiring?"

* * *

A/N: Another update, guys! Finally got a little background out on Rufus, and why he may seem a little more unemotional that I normally write him, he will be evolving, just like Tifa, through the story. Oh, and I added a teeny surprise for those who are fans of Aerith. I started getting some ideas with her that I think I'm going to incorporate.

Anywhoo, just to let you know, next week I will be on VACAY! I'm goin' on a cruise with my hubby, SO excited! I won't be able to write next week, so expect there to be a more of a delay before the next chapter is posted. Thank you for your patience!


	12. The Tears

Both Rufus and Tifa were laughing when they returned to his apartment, unable to contain themselves anymore.

Tifa tried to catch her breath as she slipped off her high heels, then turned toward Rufus. "I wish I could have gotten a picture of all their faces. "

"Me too." Rufus leaned against the front door and placed his hands in his pockets with a smile across his face. "Good test run, but you'll have more of a challenge at our first event. But I will say you handled the attention flawlessly."

She performed a mock stage bow. "Thank you, thank you. By the way, when will the first event be?"

Looking at his watch, he checked the day's date. "This coming weekend there is a soiree that the company will be throwing for the elite of Midgar. That will give you about a week to get settled into your temporary residence, and then relax a couple of days before we put on the big show."

Nodding, Tifa stretched her arms behind her back and yawned. "Great. I'm ready." She walked over to Rufus, lifted herself up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. "I had fun tonight. Thanks for being honest with me."

Rufus froze for a moment, the gesture completely unexpected. He watched her give him a grin before walking to her guestroom, shoes in hand, shutting the door behind her.

He couldn't help but notice how much different Tifa acted in comparison to other women he knew. Other than the whole assassination plot, she didn't have a secret agenda. She didn't seem interested in getting tons of money, or bedding him. She just seemed… genuine.

* * *

The new girl was working out pretty well. She wasn't as great a cook as Tifa, but she made the guests feel welcome and made a good drink.

Cloud and Barret took turns pulling security for the bar. Aerith's smile seemed to ease the tension of Tifa being absent from her job for the regulars, who were a little concerned when they heard that the kickboxer had 'gone on vacation' for an indefinite period of time.

Aerith loved every minute. She enjoyed talking to the customers, enjoyed being indoors, instead of out on the muggy slum street selling flowers to strangers.

Cloud sat at the bar, studying the new girl. Everyone got along with her. She wasn't bad to look at either, her green eyes sparkled when she laughed, he noticed.

Those green eyes caught his eyes lingering. She smiled and walked over to him. "You're staring at me. Did I do something wrong?"

Cloud shook his head. "No… no… Sorry, I kinda just zoned out in your direction. I've been really tired lately."

"Is everything ok?" Aerith asked as she poured him a beer.

"Yeah, everything's fine." Cloud said, raising the mug to his lips.

"You're such a bad liar, no offense." She replied with a giggle.

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

She shook her head with a grin. "Yeah, you try to play this solemn stoic type, trying to hide your emotions. You can tell me what you're upset about, you know. I don't bite."

"Not upset, just casually worried. About a friend who could possibly be in over her head." Cloud replied.

"Oooooh lady trouble, I see."

"No, it's not like that. We're just friends. But she's doing something solo that I wish I could help her with so that she doesn't get hurt." He said, his eyebrows furrowing.

She leaned in close to him. "This doesn't have anything to do with Ms. Tifa staking out ShinRa, does it?" she whispered.

Cloud's mouth fell open. "How do you know about that? And how do you know Tifa?"

She shrugged. "I don't know her, but she's all the regulars talk about. So I asked Barret about her and after some prodding, he told me where she was."

He turned his head to glare at Barret, who was conveniently turned toward the door, but Cloud was burning a hole in the back of his friend's head nonetheless.

Aerith giggled. "Don't worry about it. I won't tell anyone. Your secret's safe with me. But I know where you're coming from, I'd feel worried too. You're a good friend."

He smiled genuinely at her. "Thanks."

"There it is! A real smile, finally!" She grinned triumphantly.

* * *

Reno and Rude moved the final few boxes into the new townhome that Tifa was to move into temporarily.

Reno wiped the sweat from his brow. "Geez, is there anything _not_ in our job description? I feel like we always get stuck with the grunt work."

Rude rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses. "Oh get over it. It's not like she's moving in with all her belongings. We got all the boxes in the house in less than an hour."

The redhead pursed his lips. "Huh. I coulda sworn we've been here longer than that."

His bald coworker shook his head but stayed silent.

Reno sat down at the dining room table for a moment. "What are your thoughts on this whole thing? I mean, ain't we sworn to protect the president at all costs?"

The taller Turk was quiet for a moment, but looked at his friend. "I think that if she can pull this all off, ShinRa will be better off with Rufus as the president. Let's face it; we shouldn't have to worry about our boss threatening to kill us for failing a mission. Plus, I don't know about you but I for one would like to see someone in control that actually cares about more than making himself money and getting laid."

Reno moved his head from side to side as he weighed the options. It was true, he didn't fear for his life in Rufus' employment, regardless of how badly he might screw up. "Yeah, you're right. But we have to make sure we do our best to protect her until she has to do what she has to do, because if we get caught being involved in this, we are worse than dead."

Rude nodded in agreement.

* * *

Tifa spent the week unpacking her new clothes and stocking her new kitchen. She had to admit, Rufus had set her up in an amazing townhome. It was a two story place with a large kitchen and her dream bathroom.

It was Thursday evening and the ShinRa soiree was fast approaching. But she didn't feel nervous, not yet at least.

While she was hanging clothes up in her closet, the PHS that Rufus had given her started to ring. She rushed over and flicked it open to answer it. "Hello?"

Cloud's voice replied, "Tifa? How's everything going? Are you okay?"

"Hey Cloud. I'm fine. Rufus found me a safe place to stay, so I'm moving some stuff in. Everything's going great so far." She said as she plopped down on a corner reading chair.

"Good, I'm glad you're safe. He hasn't done anything creepy has he? You're still comfortable doing all this?" her friend's voice clearly showed his concern.

Tifa laughed. "No, Cloud, he's been the perfect gentleman. I told you, if anything was weird, I'd let you know. You're stressing yourself out, relax, okay? How's the bar doing? You had mentioned that you got it running again, who'd you find to bartend?"

"Well, this girl, Aerith came in looking for a job while we were discussing opening back up; she's been filling in for you. The regulars miss you, but they really like her. She's pretty cute." He said hesitantly.

She bit her lip, holding back a sigh. "Oh she is, huh? Have you asked her out on a date yet?"

"No! Why would I do that?"

Tifa let out an exasperated chuckle. "You and I both know that you need someone. I thought _I_ was that someone, but we didn't work out. You need to quit holding back for my sake. If you're thinking you need my blessing, you have it. I'm not angry, Cloud. You're my best friend. You deserve to be happy. Besides, you're probably going stir crazy without all the missions and adventures to go on. You need a distraction."

Cloud was quiet on the other end of the line. "…Okay. But only because you're forcing me to." He replied with a smile in his voice.

Tifa burst out laughing despite the tear rolling down her cheek. "You idiot, go have fun. I'll talk to you soon." She closed the phone and drew her knees to her chest and sighed.

Once she composed herself, she walked downstairs to open a bottle of wine. She was planning on pouring herself a very large glass.

She had grabbed a red wine glass from the cabinet when she heard the doorbell ring.

Curious to whom it could be, she looked through the peephole first. Rufus was leaning against the wall on her front porch with his hands in his coat pockets.

She opened the door. "You didn't happen to drop by to drink wine, eat ice cream, and watch a chick flick with me, did you?"

Failing to fully comprehend what she had just asked him, Rufus leaned forward with a puzzled look on his face. "Uh, that wasn't the purpose of the visit, but I don't have anything scheduled for this evening…?"

She chuckled at his bewilderment. "I'm just messing with you. It's been a rough night, I was about to take the edge off." She said, displaying her wineglass to him and gesturing for him to come inside.

The puzzlement faded in a knowing smile as he walked through the door, and he nodded. "Ah, I see. Well if you're still offering wine, I'm still interested in a glass."

She led the way to the kitchen after shutting the front door. "Of course. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit tonight?" She asked as she poured them both a glass. She was actually very curious, she hadn't actually seen him since the night they'd gone to dinner; he had only spoken to her by phone to arrange for her move into the new place.

"Well, I've come by to check on your progress, make sure the townhome is suitable, and to let you know that your custom dress is ready and will be delivered to you tomorrow." He replied, as she handed him his glass.

"Ooh, I can't wait to see it!" she said as she drank a rather large gulp of wine. "As you can see, I'm pretty much moved in. I've put some pictures on the wall to make it more personal, but I really didn't have to do much. It was already furnished with some awesome furniture. This place is amazing. I can't believe people live like this, it's like a vacation home." She giggled.

"You mentioned you were having a rough night, is everything alright? It seems like you're trying too hard to act like your normal, cheerful self." He stated as he watched her take another large swig of her wine.

She stared at him for a second; perplexed that he could see right through her. "I'm really fine. It's nothing that you need to worry about." She nibbled nervously at her lip.

He chuckled. "There, you always do that when you've got something on your mind, you bite your lip. Just tell me what's wrong, it just might make you feel better to vent."

She sighed, looked to the floor and then back at him. "It's really stupid. "

He leaned against the island in the center of the kitchen. "And yet, I'm still willing to listen."

Tifa finished the wine in her glass and poured herself another. She was already starting to feel the effect from downing the first so fast. She sighed again and looked at Rufus. "You remember when you asked me about my past relationship with Cloud? Well, I've always had this crush, kind of 'in love with your best friend' thing. Well, we did try to make a deeper relationship out of it, but he just wasn't as interested as I was. It took him forever to try to let me down easy, and it broke me when he did. He just couldn't see me that way. I shouldn't be upset over it anymore, but he basically called me tonight, asking my permission to ask another girl out. It's hard letting go when you've held on so long. But I just want him to be happy. I don't want him to feel like I have him trapped."

Rufus realized why she was reluctant to talk about it that day in the car. "It must be difficult to be best friends with someone you care for so deeply. Yet, you have the emotional capacity to not let it overcome you, and you're still looking out for his feelings. You have to be, by far, the most caring person I've ever met, Tifa. You're always putting everyone else's frame of mind before your own."

Tifa could feel hot tears welling up in her eyes as she downed the second glass of wine. "Fat lot of good it's done me, right? God, I'm a mess…" Why was he being so nice to her? This was strange, even for Rufus. She couldn't understand why he would care how she was holding up emotionally.

Rufus took a swig of his wine and set his glass down, walking around the kitchen island to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "You just need to start being just a bit more selfish."

She didn't know if it was the wine, or his advice, but her heartbeat quickened with his close proximity. She could smell his cologne as she turned her head up to look him in the eyes as she wiped the tears from her own. "You mean, like this?" Her own daring surprised her as she reached up to grab the back of his head to get his lips within reach of hers. Straining on her tiptoes, she locked lips with him and it felt like her heart was about to pound out of her chest.

He had been completely caught off guard. He had just been trying to console her. But he wasn't complaining. Instead, he pulled her closer, running his fingers through her soft dark hair while her teeth gently nibbled his lower lip.

As if suddenly coming to the realization of what she was doing, she broke the kiss and stepped back, eyes wide and chest heaving. "I'm… I'm sorry."

Rufus laughed. "Why? We're going to have to kiss sooner or later for this whole thing to work. You surprising me with it isn't necessarily a bad thing either. I rather enjoyed it." He winked at her. "Look, just because Strife can't see you for the attractive woman you are, doesn't mean that I can't."

Tifa smiled and put her forehead to Rufus' chest. "Does anybody else get to see this cheesy side of you, or do you save it up just for me?"

He smiled as he looked down at her and ran his fingers through her hair again. "Oddly enough, I do seem to act this way only with you. I should go, before the wine gives you any more ideas." He said with a grin.

She laughed and stepped back to look Rufus in the eye. "Thank you, for making me feel better. You're pretty good at it."

* * *

A/N: SURPRISE! SO I totally swept out another chapter before I leave tomorrow. I couldn't help myself, I needed a little mushy moment between them. I hope it's enough to tide you over until I come back! Let me know how I'm doing! Speak up, people! Let me know what you like, don't like, what I should focus on working on, that stuff doesn't hurt my feelings at all. :)

Until next time!


	13. The Eyes of the Many

This was it, the night of the first formal event that Rufus and Tifa were to attend as an official couple. Tifa couldn't deny that she had butterflies in her stomach. She was finishing up the final touches of her hair and makeup and adjusting her jewelry.

She stood in front of the full length mirror in the bedroom and inspected herself for the fifteenth time. The custom sky blue dress was breathtaking. It was a dramatic backless dress that was held in place with a brushed silver necklace that had a small drop chain that ran down the length of her bare back. The front was tailored to her exact shape and featured a flowing knee length high hemline that fluttered into a long length hemline to the back of the dress that nearly trailed the ground. The designer clearly wanted to showcase Tifa's lean and toned shoulders and arms along with her athletic legs instead of focusing on her more ample features. Tifa absolutely adored the dress, and couldn't stop looking at it. Paired with some platform peep toe pumps and she felt more confident in herself than she had in a long time.

The doorbell rang and she quickly picked up her clutch and the invitation that Rufus had given to her. Downing the last gulp of wine from the glass she had been drinking from, she rushed to the door to open it. "Finally, I know we're supposed to be fashionably late - …Reno?" She looked at the redheaded Turk standing at her door with a disappointed look on her face.

Reno just grinned at her. "Whoa, momma, don't you clean up nice! … I mean, you look really nice, ma'am."

Tifa laughed. "Thanks, Reno. Where's Rufus?"

"Big daddy Shinra got pulled away last minute on business. Rufus has been put in charge of hosting the soiree. You can imagine how thrilled he is about that. You're gonna get _a lot_ more attention this way, so be ready. He sent me to 'fetch' you. Do you have the invite that he gave you?"

She nodded. "I think I'm ready."

"Good deal, let's get you in the car. We need to get Cinderella to the ball." Reno led her to the vehicle to open the door for her.

* * *

Rufus looked at his watch. People were starting to arrive and he had to welcome them. He adjusted his coat lapel and prepared himself for the same old song and dance.

He was agitated that his father had dumped this party in his lap, but at the same time, he was relieved that his father wouldn't be meeting Tifa firsthand tonight. He knew she wasn't ready yet.

As the guest filed in, he greeted them one by one until his hand ended up shaking an all too familiar wrinkled, clawed hand.

Rufus mustered a charming smile to cover his disgust. "Madam Boticella. Welcome to ShinRa HQ. How are you doing this fine evening?"

The old woman displayed her teeth in what Rufus assumed was a smile, though it was hard to tell. "Rufus, I'm disappointed in you, you never called my daughter."

Rufus patted the crone's hand. "Madam, as honored as I am that you would approve of me to court your daughter, I should inform you that there is another woman in my life right now."

"Is that so? Well, I will have to meet this girl; I hope that she is as well brought up as my daughter. Will she be attending the soiree?" she croaked.

"Of course, she should be arriving soon. I'll introduce you myself." Rufus gave the woman a grin.

He kept greeting the line of people arriving, noting where the bar was, and where they could find hors d'oeurves. He could feel his jawline tightening with each passing guest, he was tired of smiling.

"She's waiting for you to escort her in, she's in the private foyer. " Reno whispered in his ear.

Rufus looked around for someone to take his position at greeting; Reeve Tuesti was standing nearby. "Reeve, take over for me."

Reeve nodded and began greeting the on-coming guests.

Rufus made his way to a side door which hid the private foyer and opened the door. "Tifa? Are you ready?"

She walked out from around a corner and for a moment, Rufus nearly forgot to breathe. She absolutely looked the part of a debutant, and the dress was beyond eye-catching without being too racy. Simply, she was stunning. He knew she was striking to begin with, but he had no idea she could look as breathtaking as she did.

The grin on her face let him know that he had stared too long.

He winked at her. "Don't worry; I won't need to take a picture, there will be plenty of pictures taken this evening. You look amazing, by the way. Are you ready to surprise the elite of Midgar?"

She laughed. "As ready as I'll ever be. I must admit I have a few butterflies."

He offered his elbow to her and she linked her arm with his as they walked out of the foyer. It didn't take long before he was sure everyone in the room had spotted them. He spied Madam Boticella staring particularly hard in their direction.

Rufus turned to whisper in Tifa's ear. "Firstly, I'm going to present you to Madam Boticella. She's been trying to force her daughter on me for a while now. She probably won't be very kind to you in particular, but I have to be polite and at least introduce you."

Tifa nodded as a smile graced her lips, steeling herself for cold words.

"Madam Boticella, I promised you that I would introduce you to the young woman I've been seeing. Gertrude Boticella, I would like you to meet Tiffany Duciel. She prefers to be called Tifa, and her family was a part of the Golden Saucer land development project. Tifa, Madam Boticella's family was one of the founding families of Midgar." Rufus said as he stepped back to reveal Tifa to the old woman.

Tifa smiled graciously to her and curtsied. "It's an honor to make your acquaintance, Madam Boticella. Forgive my staring, but I must comment on your gorgeous necklace."

The gaunt crone beamed, clutched at her jewelry and bared her teeth in what Tifa hoped was a grin. "My, my Master Rufus, you've found yourself a truly stunning young woman, complete with genuine traditional manners and gentry. I must say, I am quite impressed. It's not easy to catch a woman that fits that description, and even harder for playboys like you to keep them." The old woman chuckled.

Rufus grinned. Tifa certainly did know how to lay on the charm.

Tifa shook her head and smiled. "You flatter me."

" _And_ she plays coy." Madam Boticella grinned, winking at Rufus. "Well, I can't say that I am not disappointed that my daughter doesn't have a chance with you, but I will say that you better not lose this one. Your father will be proud." She turned to Tifa. "My dear, it was a pleasure meeting you. Perhaps we'll bump into each other in the future."

"I do hope so. It was lovely to meet you as well. Enjoy the evening, Madam." Tifa smiled again and looked to Rufus.

"Well I think you deserve a drink." He said, grinning. He turned to lead Tifa to the bar. "That was astonishing. I'm not sure I've ever seen that woman be _that_ kind to another woman unless it was out of sarcasm. And she definitely wasn't being sarcastic."

Tifa grinned and patted Rufus' arm. "One of the golden rules in customer service is: to receive respect, one must first give respect. Plus, I was taught manners as a child, and while I didn't always need to use them, I've never forgotten how to use them."

Rufus handed her a glass of champagne. "Well, I'm sorry I ever doubted your… what did she call it? Gentry?"

She smirked before taking a sip. "Gentry is good old fashioned _class_."

"Ah, well, she isn't wrong." He replied as he sipped from his own glass.

"Well if it isn't the extremely handsome Vice President Rufus." A very high pitched screech of a voice pierced their conversation.

Rufus' shoulders tensed at hearing the voice.

Tifa couldn't help but feel like it had the effect of a dog whistle on a canine. She turned around to face the source of the shriek.

Approaching them was a woman with platinum blonde hair and large green eyes, wearing a garish red evening gown with a slit up the side to nearly her waist, and her obviously enhanced bust line was barely covered and on display.

Rufus gave Tifa a slight wince upon hearing the voice, and his jaw clenched. He turned to greet the thin woman in red. "Scarlet. How nice to see you able to make the party, considering how busy your work schedule is."

"Rufus, of course I couldn't miss such a grand party, especially knowing that _you'd_ be here. Besides, I needed a break. It's not like we're in the middle of a war at the moment." Her sugary sweet smile faded when her gaze settled on Tifa. "Oh, I didn't see you there. Hello, I'm Scarlet Decatur, head of Weapons Development for ShinRa HQ. And you are?" she asked flatly.

Tifa smiled at the less than polite woman. "I am Tiffany Duciel; pleased to meet you, Ms. Decatur."

Scarlet nodded abruptly before turning back to Rufus as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "You will be visiting the tech lab this week, right? I've been looking forward to showing you a few new toys I've come up with." She said with a not-so-subtle grin.

Before Rufus could open his mouth to answer, Tifa gave a sweet smile and lit up. "Oh, Rufus, that's perfect, remember you said you'd give me a grand tour of the HQ; Ms. Decatur can show us her weapon prototypes, how exciting."

Scarlet's grin fell off her face, obviously perturbed by the uninvited guest. "And how do you two know each other?"

Rufus smirked at Scarlet. "She's my date." He replied as he put his hand on Tifa's back, gently pulling her closer to him by the waist. He sipped his champagne.

The platinum blonde swiped her bangs out of her face in a huff, but smirked anyway. "I see. Well, good luck with that, sweetheart. I'll see you around, Rufus." She said before stamping off.

"What a wonderful personality on that girl." Tifa said sarcastically, watching the thin young woman walk away.

Rufus laughed. "You might not want to piss her off. She's dangerous."

Tifa exhaled her held breath. "I could take her."

He laughed again. "Feisty, aren't you." He whispered in her ear.

She shivered, almost forgetting the pretenses they were there under. "I just have a feeling she's going to try to make trouble for me." She replied.

"I wouldn't doubt it; that sounds like Scarlet. But for now, let's just 'enjoy' the party." He kissed her temple.

Nearly everyone who knew the Shinra family was intrigued by this new young woman's presence, especially since Rufus was doing a fair job of showing small affections throughout the night.

Even Rufus was slightly impressed with the level of charm that Tifa was putting forth. She acted as though she had attended these sorts of events all her life. She was graceful, and knew when to speak, and when to simply stand and look beautiful. She was making it very easy for him to appear that he was showing her off. He knew this was very much against her personal nature, and felt a tinge of guilt at parading her around like a new possession.

But she only smiled the most genuine smile at him and kissed him on the cheek. "Alright, who's next?" She asked as she straightened his jacket lapel.

"I believe we've gotten around to most of the chatty people. I'm sure you're probably ready for a break. Go get yourself something to drink, I have to go find Mayor Domino's assistant. I'll come get you shortly." Rufus grinned at her. "By the way, you're doing very well. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've done this before."

She fluttered her eyelashes at him with a demure grin. "Hurry back, my love!" She whispered and quickly stuck her tongue out at him. She watched him chuckle as he walked away, then turned to make her way to the refreshments table. As she was handed her glass of wine, a voice appeared at her shoulder.

"I didn't think he was _ever_ going to let you wander alone tonight."

Tifa's shoulders tensed slightly for a moment as she turned to look at who was addressing her.

A tall, pale, raven haired young man with his hands in his pockets smiled back at her. He had steel grey eyes that peeked out from under the wisps of black hair that fell across his face. Eyes that had a strange piercing quality to them.

She nearly shivered from the heavy gaze she was under, but she smiled nonetheless. "Hello, I don't believe we've been introduced..."

The young man chuckled. "No, of course not… Tiffany, isn't it? Rufus made sure to introduce you to all the people his father holds important. It's as if he's showing you off. But I understand why. You're quite the beauty, and quite frankly, everyone here is talking about you. You've made quite an impression. My name is Alton Moore. It's so nice to finally meet you face to face." He took Tifa's hand to kiss her knuckles. "Rufus' father is good friends with mine, but Rufus and I don't quite see eye to eye. Our fathers always sort of pitted us against each other."

Tifa gave Alton a half smile to hide her apprehension and took her hand back from him. "Well, I suppose a healthy rivalry never hurt anyone."

Alton gave her a grin. "I wouldn't call it 'healthy' per se, but it is a rivalry nonetheless. How long have you two been seeing each other?"

She bit the inside of her lip as her comfort level around this young man started to sink in her stomach. "For a bit over a week…"

"Showering you with gifts, I'm sure. Wooing you with pretty things to keep you interested. You should know that Rufus isn't as prim and proper as he seems. He's also the best liar I know." Alton said nonchalantly as he picked up a glass of champagne and sipped it, winking at Tifa.

Tifa narrowed her eyes at Alton, but smiled nevertheless. "I appreciate your concern about my wellbeing, Mr. Moore, but with all due respect, I'm a big girl and I can handle myself."

"I hope that's true Ms. Duciel. I'd hate to see another charming young woman with her standing and reputation ruined by the Shinra family." He lifted his glass to her. "I'll leave you to it. I'm sure I'll see you again. Have a good evening, Ms. Duciel."

She watched the young man disappear into the crowd. A hand on her shoulder made her jump from her thoughts. She looked up to see Rufus staring off into the crowd where Alton disappeared.

"I see you've met Alton - waited till I left you alone for five minutes to talk to you. What kind of monster did he make me out to be this time?" He asked, his eyes still scanning the crowd, his expression difficult to read.

Tifa was quiet for a second and turned to Rufus. "He said you're the best liar he knows."

"Oh is that all? Hm. He must be running out of interesting tales to tell about me." He replied, finally looking at her.

"I didn't get a good vibe from him at all. What's his story?" she asked, crossing her arms and sipping her wine.

"Our fathers do business together. We grew up hating each other because he had to match me at everything. Alton grew up getting everything he ever wanted, so when he sees something he wants, he does his damnedest to make sure he gets it, usually under questionable terms."

"Well that's comforting." Tifa responded.

Rufus offered a reassuring grin. "Don't worry about him. I don't. Come on. I have to give a speech on behalf of the company; I'd like you to come up on stage with me."

"…What?" She asked quietly, eyes wide.

Rufus chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm not asking you to speak. I just want you to be nearby, if you don't mind. I think we need to kick this up a notch."

She nodded slowly.

He grasped her hand and led her up onto the platform, positioning her at stage left in front of the curtain, about ten feet behind the microphone. He smiled at her, picked up her chin with his index finger and gave her a swift but soft kiss, front and center of the entire room of guests.

As if on cue, the room fell silent, and all eyes were on them.

Rufus grinned at Tifa and whispered in her ear before walking to the microphone, "Now _that's_ how you grab the eyes and ears of a crowd."

* * *

A/N: Sorry it took me a couple weeks, I had to get out of vacation mode, and things have kind of hit the ceiling at work. But having this fic to crawl into at the end of a long week has been a nice stress reducer. Thanks for sticking with me! I'm ending the chapter here, but I'm not done writing for the day. Shouldn't be too long before I get the next chapter up. Please leave me a review!


	14. Re-evaluation

Tifa awoke to the sound of her cell phone ringing. Through bleary eyes, she attempted to locate the small device that was quickly reminding her how annoying her ringtone was. Blindly finding the phone, she quickly read 7th Heaven's number from the ID and yawned as she flicked it open. "Cloud, don't you think it's a little earl-"

"OHMYGOODNESS TIFA YOU'RE ON THE FRONT PAGE."

Tifa held the earpiece away from her head as the unpleasantly loud squealing voice rattled her eardrum. Silently attempting to process all the information from the voice to the information it was relaying, she slowly answered. "…Uh, come again? Who is this?"

"Oh, sorry, did I wake you? I couldn't help but call, I'm just so excited!"

Tifa blinked away the sleep from her eyes as if that would help her figure out who was shouting at her. "Listen, who is this, how did you get this number…?"

"Oh, right, we haven't met, I'm Aerith! I ran back to the bar, got your number off the bulletin board in the back room so I could be the first to tell you! You're on the front page of this week's Midgar's City Highlight!"

"Aerith? Oh, you're the one bartending at 7th Heaven. Wait. How do you know about me?" Tifa felt absolutely confused and a bit betrayed that a complete stranger seemed to know about this mission she was on.

"Barrett told me a little while after they hired me here. Don't worry, I won't tell a _soul._ But enough about me, you're on the cover, Tifa! I was walking home from work this morning and saw a headline about Rufus Shinra, and a mystery woman, and knew it had to be about you!"

The young woman seemed to be much more excited about this particular news than Tifa herself. "Well, Aerith, that's great and all, but more importantly, what exactly does it say?" She drew her knees to her chest on the bed, the news seeping in.

"'Rufus Shinra was spotted at the annual ShinRa company gala, giving a quick kiss to a mysterious young woman whom he pulled up on stage with him before giving a speech. He gave no mention of her in the speech, but it was obvious that everyone at the party was curious of her identity. Rufus Shinra has been very good at keeping out of paparazzi's sight for many years, but he could not escape them being front and center as host of the gala. We caught this quick kiss on camera, and we'll be doing some digging on who this beauty is.' Tifa, they got a picture of him kissing you! It's adorable, and that dress is gorgeous on you! I'm showing Barrett and Cloud when I get to work tonight!"

Tifa burst out laughing at Aerith's giddiness. "While that may not be the best idea, you know what? You go ahead and do that. And please, make sure to give me every single detail about the looks on their faces when you show them." While she wasn't quite comfortable talking to this girl she'd never met, she did like how friendly she seemed to be, even though a small part of her withered, knowing that this girl had caught Cloud's attention.

"Oh, don't you worry, I sure will. Sorry again, that I woke you. I'll let you get some more sleep! I'll talk to you later, bye!"

"Bye." Tifa closed the phone. She sighed and leaned back on her elbows, looking around the room she was in. She ached a bit from walking in heels the night before, and considering Reno had brought her home at 12:30am, she was a little disappointed that she didn't get to speak with Rufus when the event ended. It would have been nice to even just tell him that she had fun, or even just 'bye'. She rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock. "7:30? Heck no, I'm sleeping in today." She flopped backward onto the bed and drew the covers up to her chin.

* * *

"Yo, sir, you and the lady made it on a local rag mag." Reno said after entering Rufus' office.

"Good. I was hoping that move would work." Rufus said; not looking up from his paperwork.

"She really looked good last night. Can't lie, I'm impressed with your resilience." The Turk replied, flipping through the magazine.

"Oh? How do you mean?" The blonde shifted his eyes, slightly intrigued by the comment.

"Well, I mean, you didn't ask her to stay the night, after everything was over, you just asked me to take her home."

"Reno, I don't take things that don't belong to me. " Rufus said flatly.

Reno was quiet for a second, but shrugged. "I get that. But I think you're missing out. She digs you, man."

The boss put down his pen and folded his hands together. "I appreciate your odd concern for my love life, but let's pretend to be realistic about this for a moment. If we were to go beyond the limits of the agreement that she and I have, it will most definitely complicate things."

"Or it'll sell the image even more. Aren't you trying to convince your dad that you're red hot for her?" Reno plopped down in a guest chair across from Rufus.

"I'm trying to convince him that she might become my wife, otherwise he won't feel the need to meet her."

Reno scratched his head. "Yeah, but a man and wife combo should have chemistry, the best way to show that is to show that chemistry."

Rufus' eyebrows drew together. "I have never seen a man and wife behave overly affectionate in public, and in fact, my mother and father didn't even stay in the same room."

His subordinate gave him a half lidded stare. "You really think you're old man is the example you want to compare to? Seriously, if you and Tifa actually have a great relationship, and have fun with this a little, you might make the old man jealous that you actually found something he never had. Besides, weren't your parents paired for business reasons or something? Aren't most power couples like that, here in this city? Of course you don't have a good idea of what a great couple should look like. Fact of the matter is, in the 'real' world, people get married because they love each other, not because it will make them rich."

Rufus stared off in the distance for a second, taking in Reno's advice. "Alright, I'll bite. But what if she in fact doesn't, as you said, 'dig me'?"

Reno snorted at hearing those words escape his boss' lips. "Heh, I don't think you have to worry about that. There's something about you that she really likes, otherwise, you would've had a worse time back there in that chocobo stall, and you also would have a lot harder of a time getting a kiss out of her. She may be an exceptional actress, but it's hard to fake chemistry. I mean, it's your call. Just seems to me that you're afraid of really getting close to someone."

The boss rolled his eyes. "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that last line, because of how absurd that sounds. Regardless of how we are trying to portray our relationship, I still believe that it would critically complicate our ability to rationalize what our end goals are after this whole scheme is complete." Suddenly the memory of Tifa taking him by surprise with a kiss flooded back.

The redheaded Turk shrugged and scratched the back of his head, obviously agitated. "Whatever, man, I'm not trying to argue with you. I guess I'm just trying to say that I don't understand why you're fighting so hard to hide the fact that you do like her while simultaneously trying to show everyone else that you _do_ like her. It's counterproductive and I'm just not sure what you're thinking the complication will be once this is all over." He stood up and put the magazine on Rufus' desk before turning on his heel to walk out of the office in silence.

Rufus unfolded his hands and picked up the magazine to look at the picture on the cover. The photographer had caught the moment poignantly, but Rufus noticed something interesting. Tifa's expression was honest, if a little surprised, but obviously inviting. His own, on the other hand, was reminiscent of every other time he had performed in front of an audience. Practiced, robotic almost. He looked as though he was holding something back. To the untrained eye, it might look somewhat natural. In the quick moment it took, it went unnoticed by the crowd at the party. But Rufus could see it in the photo. After his lifetime of hiding emotion, he knew when he looked guarded. And if anyone was going to be able to pick up on his tells, it was going to be his father.

Rufus threw the magazine in the trash.

* * *

Tifa tried to keep herself busy, there wasn't really much to do around the townhome. She was used to cleaning the bar in her off time, taking care of Barrett and Cloud; there was always someone around to talk to at least.

The day was headed into evening hours, and Tifa was wondering why she hadn't heard any word from Rufus. Reno had herded her into a car before the event was completely over. She had tried to ask why they were leaving early. Reno only told her that Rufus was going to be busy coordinating clean up and saying goodbye to guests. Her stomach growled, rousing her from her thoughts. "Well, I guess I could make myself a snack."

She headed to the kitchen to look through the pantry. Nothing was really looking appetizing though. Sighing in defeat, she decided to wait until dinner time to eat, and closed the pantry door just as the doorbell rang.

Her heart skipped a beat as she headed to the front door. " _Finally."_ She thought. She opened the door, fully expecting to be face to face with Rufus Shinra, and instead was very surprised to find that she was face to face with Alton Moore.

A bit of anxiety made Tifa's heart start beating faster, but she kept a calm façade. "Mr. Moore... right? What are you doing here?"

Alton's smile came off a bit icy. "Ah, Ms. Duciel, I'm so glad you're home. And please, call me Alton. Forgive my intrusion, but I came to return your handbag, it seems you left it at the party last night." He produced Tifa's clutch and held it out to her.

" _That's weird, I don't remember setting it down at all last night."_ She bells rang in Tifa's head, but she still played cool. "Oh, thank you, Alton. How exactly did you know where to find me?"

"I must have left about the same time you did, I think. My way home just happens to go by your lovely townhome, and I saw you getting out of your limo as we drove by. I didn't want you to think I followed you home on purpose, so I waited until today to return it to you so you wouldn't assume that I was stalking you." He said as he handed her the purse with a grin.

"Well, I appreciate it. Thank you for bringing it to me." She replied, hoping he'd take the cue to leave her doorstep.

He didn't take the hint. "Also, Ms. Duciel, I wanted to apologize for my behavior last night. I had one glass too many of the champagne, and I know what I said to you was very unnecessary. I don't want you to have a bad impression; I was hoping that you would allow me to make it up to you."

Tifa's eyebrows drew together for a moment before a voice behind Alton interrupted. "How are you expecting to make it up to her?"

Alton turned to see Rufus standing just beyond the front porch with his hands in his coat pockets, looking less than pleased. "Well, hello, Rufus. I was just returning Ms. Duciel's lost property."

Tifa waved her clutch at Rufus behind Alton's head.

Rufus took note and looked back at Alton. "I see that. But that didn't answer my question."

The dark haired man's face was expressionless for a moment before he donned a toothy grin and chuckled. "Nothing at all for you to fret about, my friend. I was merely going to extend an invite to her, if she'd like to attend one of my own gatherings. Of course, you are more than welcome to make an appearance yourself. I'll have an invitation sent to both of you. Ms. Duciel, it was nice to see you again. Good day, Rufus." He turned to Tifa and bowed his head, then turned again to walk by Rufus, brushing his shoulder with his own.

Tifa waved, but said nothing in return. She looked at the purse that had been returned to her as Rufus walked closer to her, watching Alton leave.

"How long was he here before I got here?" Rufus asked Tifa in a rather perturbed tone.

She looked up at Rufus, who still had his head turned, keeping an eye on the unwanted visitor as he left the premises. "Only a couple of minutes before you showed. He apparently found my purse last night. Although, I don't remember putting it down for any reason."

"He must have followed the car back to your place last night. I'm surprised he didn't try to approach you after Reno left."

"He basically said he spotted me as I was getting out of the car, and he didn't want to come off as a creeper, so he didn't stop last night. Needless to say, I still think he's a creeper." Tifa crossed her arms.

"I don't like that he knows where you're staying." Rufus said, finally looking at her.

"Well, I don't either. But I have to stay here, I 'live' here, remember?" She replied, noticing his lingering eyes.

"Should I have a Turk keep an eye on the place?"

Tifa smiled warmly, realizing that Rufus was concerned for her safety. "No, I'll be fine. I can protect myself. Besides, your dad will notice something fishy if the guys are always out keeping watch here."

He nodded in response.

There was an awkward silence.

She chuckled. "Would you like to come in? I was just about to start cooking dinner."

He smiled at her and nodded again. "Of course, thank you."

She pushed the door open and waited for him to follow her inside before asking, "What's wrong? You seem deep in thought."

"As always, you're very perceptive. I have been, actually." He followed her to her kitchen, eyes following her.

"If it's about Alton, you don't have to worry about me, Rufus. Like I said, I'm pretty capable of handling those types of situations." She said as she gathered ingredients from the pantry.

"No, I know you are. And while yes, I am a bit concerned, I really don't think he'd try anything too scandalous. Actually, something was brought to my attention, and I wanted to discuss it with you and perhaps you can let me know your thoughts on the matter." He sat down on a barstool at the kitchen island.

Tifa's eyebrows creased in confusion as she finished washing her hands. She turned to look at Rufus as she dried them on a dish towel. "Okay. What is it?"

"Firstly, I want to tell you that you did amazingly well last night. You impressed everyone, and we managed to get a picture or two of us in a few different publications. And you looked absolutely stunning."

"Thank you, I did my best." She grinned as she turned back around to continue prepping to cook.

"I, on the other hand, did not perform as well as you."

She laughed. "What are you talking about, you did fine!"

Rufus shook his head. "No. I have to confess that this venture of ours is difficult to navigate. You see, I'm afraid I'm holding back – and if I'm not careful, it could bite us later. But the reason I've been holding back is because I didn't want you to get the wrong idea about the nature of our relationship."

Tifa's breath caught in her chest and she had to admit, it felt like someone had sucker punched her. But perhaps, that was exactly what he was talking about. She turned around to face him as she stirred ingredients in a mixing bowl. "Rufus, I get it. This is all an act; you don't want us to get attached because this is only for the mission. Don't be so hard on yourself, it just means you don't want to hurt me in the long run."

Rufus took a poignant breath. "I believed that I could do this convincingly without worry that I would get too attached; it's never been a problem in the past for me. What I didn't account for is the fact that I've never been in a long term relationship. They've always been short bursts that didn't mean anything, you know, never the type of relationship that you show off in public. I realize now that I am more new at this that I perceived. The kiss from last night looks great from your end; I look planned and staged, not spontaneous. I feel as though we do share more chemistry than I would normally like to admit."

Tifa's stirring slowed as she listened, more confused than when the conversation had started.

Rufus could almost hear Reno yell at the back of his mind, " _SPIT IT OUT, MAN_!" He chuckled. "What I'm trying to say is that I feel that we would get better results if we actually did engage in a real relationship. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work, but that's something we can figure out together, if you agree with me, that is."

Tifa stopped stirring and stared at him in silence for a moment. It was difficult to try to picture what the future could hold. Her heartbeat quickened.

Her silence threw him off. He hadn't planned for that. "…Well? What are your thoughts?"

"I just… don't know. I could deal with going through with this and just having a major crush on you. I don't know if I could deal if at the end of all this, you walk away, especially after I get rid of the president."

He nodded and chose his words with care. "Well, I can see why that would make you hesitate. But I hope you believe me when I say I wouldn't do that. In any case, I understand you need time to think it over, and I won't rush you. But in the meantime, I think it would be good for us to spend a bit more time together, just so we can be more natural in public."

She smiled and gently kissed his temple, amazed by his patient answer. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you? Of course we can spend more time together; I'm getting bored as hell by myself around here. Here. You stir this; I'm going to slice the vegetables. You can help me cook dinner."

Rufus grinned and grabbed the mixing bowl from her. "I'm no cook, but I'll try."

* * *

A/N: Hi guys. Been a couple of months… Yeah... about that. Sorry it took me so long to update. I've actually had most of this chapter written for some time, I just haven't had any time at all to finish it. Work has become crazy, I was promoted and this new job comes with A LOT of new responsibilities that are time sensitive. Luckily for me, now that that the holidays are here, I'm really the only one at work, so its slowed a bit. I'm going to try to get some more up soon, but don't be surprised if you don't see anything until next month. The first few days of the month are the most stressful for me! Anywhoo, hope you enjoyed, please post a review, let me know how I'm doing. Also, have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!


	15. The Eyes of Envy

Cloud glanced out of the bar window. It had been two weeks since Tifa's kidnapping-turned-espionage mission began. He'd often thought about how she was doing, wondering more than once if she was really safe in Rufus Shinra's care. Seeing her with him on the cover of one of the city's celebrity magazines was more than a little jilting. Then he remembered that it was he who rejected her, not vice versa. But he had noticed how amazing she looked in that dress that Shinra had bought her. He also noticed that she had a distinct happiness that seemed to emanate from her smile. It wasn't the false 'everything is great' -albeit convincing- smile she had on when she was lifting everyone else's spirits, or serving drinks to pervy old codgers in the bar. This one seemed like the one she used to give him.

While he was worried about her, and thought about her ever so fragile safety, Aerith kept his mind otherwise occupied. She put him to work stocking the bar, sending him out for errands, and then she planned dates for them on the weekends. He'd actually gotten to laugh a bit, and joked around with her.

She knew, of course, why he drifted off in his own head, and she understood that Cloud missed his childhood friend and was concerned for her. She watched him stare at his hands as she dried a glass with a dishrag. "Cloud? Do you have something on your mind? You know, you can talk to me about whatever it is." She queried with a warm smile on her face.

He looked up at Aerith and smiled back, though it was a bit lackluster. "Just thinkin'."

She held in a troubled sigh. "About Tifa?"

His shoulders tensed but he shrugged it off. "I'm just hoping she's safe. You don't have anything to worry about." He replied, smiling more genuinely this time, hoping to ease her mind.

She giggled lightly. "I'm worried about you, silly. You need to cheer up. The way you talk about Tifa, it sounds like she's a butt kicker that doesn't take nonsense. I'm sure she has a pretty good handle on things."

Cloud nodded in agreement. "Yeah, true, but all the same, she is one woman alone in a hornet's nest. Piss off one, the rest will come after you till the threat is gone."

Aerith returned the nod. "But I think that she's doing a fair job of becoming Midgar's sweetheart. There were two more articles written on Tiffany Duciel's 'past' this week, she'll get a lot of sympathy points for having parents who were killed so tragically. Plus there's nothing to indicate any trouble as of yet."

"I know. She's just never handled anything this big before. I just wish I could do it for her." He replied, leaning back in his chair.

Aerith burst out laughing. "What would you do, dress in drag pretending to be Rufus' girlfriend? Oh I'd pay money to see that!"

Cloud couldn't help but let out a chuckle himself. As if he'd ever be caught dead in drag.

* * *

Reno yawned and stretched his long lanky arms above his head. He'd been out all night on a covert mission of driving secretly around Tifa's neighborhood, keeping a watchful eye out for that Alton guy.

When he had heard about what had occurred after the party, he felt a tinge of responsibility for letting it happen. He hadn't noticed they were being followed. Tifa seemed like a pretty nice girl; he would've felt awful if anything bad happened to her. Rufus hadn't even asked him to patrol the area, but he took some time out of his days off just to check to make sure she wasn't being watched by someone else.

Rude poked him with an elbow. "What's your problem? You look like hell. Did you stay out all night drinking again?"

"Huh? Nah man, just couldn't sleep."

"Likely story. So Tseng has us checking out the Gongaga site today. We're off on a two day mission to…" Rude trailed off after he realized that Reno had nodded off leaning against the car, gently snoring.

Rude shook his head. It looked like it was going to be a quiet ride to Gongaga.

* * *

"Do you want to go?"

"Not really, do you?"

Rufus shrugged. "Probably wouldn't hurt to show up at another social event that isn't hosted by ShinRa. I don't really want to go either, but we can make an appearance."

Tifa looked over the invitation again that Alton Moore had sent in the mail. The party was to be held at his home on the eastern side of the plate that night.

"The only problem is that we won't have any Turk detail – Reno and Rude were put on a mission out of the city." Rufus continued.

"Do you really think we'd be in any danger though?" Tifa asked before plopping down on the couch.

He shrugged again. "I doubt it; he'd be foolish to try anything in a roomful of his own guests."

She drew her knees up to her chest. "I just get a really uncomfortable vibe around him."

Rufus looked at her, noticing how delicate and helpless she looked in that position, with apprehension written across her face. Then he remembered the sizable dents she'd left in the Turk's car's trunk. "Then knock his lights out. I'd wager he won't be expecting that." He said with a smirk.

"I doubt that's customary in 'polite society'." She mused, resting her chin on her knees. "Refined women aren't supposed to act that way."

He sat down next to her with a toned down grin. "We don't have to go if you don't want to."

The warmth of his close proximity comforted her. She leaned against him, laying her head on his shoulder. "I don't know what we should do." She said, quietly, looking up at him.

Her sudden warm breath at the crook of his neck caused a slight shiver. "Well, why don't we stop by for a little while, and if you start to feel uncomfortable, we'll leave."

She bit her lip and sat up. "Well, I guess I have to figure out what to wear."

He chuckled. "I can help you with that, if you'd like."

She smirked back at him as she stood up to walk to her bedroom. "I'm sure you would love that."

He watched her slender female form stroll away as he muttered under his breath, "Yes, I would."

He had to admit, there were moments that he caught himself gazing at her, only to realize he was holding his breath. She had a different atmosphere to her than other girls had appeared to Rufus. Yes, she was beautiful, with those big auburn eyes encircled by long, heavy lashes, and that smile on those pouted lips. But her disposition was so warm, inviting, caring, and concerned. The girls he had brief encounters with before had always been avaricious, cold, calculating, and could care less about anyone but themselves. They also had all been unquestionably counterfeit – hair extensions, acrylic nails, plastic surgery enhancements- all to go along with their false sense of entitlement.

Tifa was a welcome change in that front. He could see her natural loveliness unhidden by makeup; her body, toned from fighting and kickboxing was beyond impressive as it didn't impede her womanly curves. Not only could she seriously defend herself with her bare hands, she was very intelligent too.

Maybe Reno really was on to something.

Rufus stood up and walked to the kitchen to pour a glass of wine. Tifa must have heard him clink the bottle to the glass, because she shouted from her bedroom, "Pour one for me too!" Rufus chuckled and grabbed another glass from the cupboard. "Have you found something to wear?" he asked as he poured her wine. A rustling of clothing behind him made him aware that she had returned.

"I think so." She said as she walked around him to pick up her glass. She had chosen a lavender draped shirt dress that rested just off of her shoulders, with modest purple gemstone embellishments along the collar and cap sleeves, layered over soft grey leggings paired with strappy silver sandals. "If I'm going to this thing, I'm going to be comfortable."

Rufus smirked as he took a sip. "I couldn't have done a better job myself."

After she had done her hair and makeup, Tifa walked into the living room and sighed. "All right, let's do this thing."

Once outside, Rufus opened the passenger side car door for her.

"I don't know that I'm ever going to get used to that." She commented with a chuckle as she seated herself in the clean white sports car.

"Get used to what?" he asked when he entered the vehicle himself, started the engine and pulled away from the townhome.

"You opening every door for me. Pulling out chairs for me." She remarked as she adjusted the bangles on her wrist.

"You mean manners? None of the guys you've ever dated did that?" He asked skeptically.

"Well, maybe on the first date. But you've consistently remembered every time. No offense, it's just not a quality that I expected from you." She laughed.

"Oh, so you just assumed that I was a rude, insufferable brute? I went to finishing school, I'll have you know." He replied with a smirk.

"Hey, I'm not complaining. You open all the doors you want. Just know that I don't expect you to." She said, smiling, glad he didn't take it as an insult.

"I know you don't, that's why it's so much more fun to see the look on your face when I do."

Tifa's cheeks flushed. Why did he have to be so damn charismatic? He was making it awfully hard to say no to an actual, real relationship with him.

Within twenty minutes, they had reached Alton's mansion. They drove up the long gravel driveway that was lined with gorgeous topiary and landscaping. Rufus pulled up to two men at a podium.

This time, a valet opened the door for Tifa, as well as Rufus. She was given a hand to help her out of the car. She smiled, said "Thanks," and waited for Rufus to tip the valet and escort her in.

Rufus took her arm gently and whispered in her ear. "Stick close to me, and if you see anything out of the ordinary, make sure to let me know."

Tifa bit her lower lip and nodded.

Rufus chuckled and tapped her bottom lip with a finger gently to remind her to not look nervous.

She smiled back up at him. "''Zis better?" she whispered through clenched teeth.

He chuckled again and nodded as he handed their invites to the doorman, who was standing at yet another podium with a checklist in front of the mansion's huge ornate double doors.

"One Rufus Shinra and one Tiffany Duciel. Please, enter and have a wonderful time."

Once inside, Rufus and Tifa were directed from the front foyer to a greeting hall, where most of the other guests had gathered. As had become custom, Rufus introduced her to many new faces that were there, and she managed to remember most of the names and faces that he had introduced her to at the last party, much to Rufus' surprise.

Rufus looked at her from the corner of his eye, noticing that she seemed a lot less nervous with the introductions and conversations this time around. She was engaging and cordial, but even more natural than at the formal affair, as though she seemed to be more in her own element.

He also noticed that he hadn't seen Alton around yet, which was strange considering he was the host. He made sure never to wander too far from Tifa, though even if he thought about moving, her iron clad grip on his elbow would have made it rather difficult.

Tifa felt more at ease once she realized that nearly everyone had some inkling of who she was, though the notion floored her. None of these people would have ever even given her the time of day if not for her association with Rufus Shinra.

"Ah, Miss Duciel, radiant as ever; I'm glad you were able to visit my humble abode. Rufus, I see you decided to come as well." Alton's voice floated above the din of the room.

Rufus felt his fist tighten.

The pair turned around to face Alton as he approached them with a couple of champagne flutes, which he handed to them with a smile. "I do hope you're enjoying the company. The subject of the two of you seems to be on everyone's lips!"

Tifa eyed the glass warily and decided to just hold it as decoration for the time being, smiling politely.

Rufus shook Alton's hand for show, squeezing extra tight for good measure, all while displaying a charming grin. "Come on, what could there possibly be to say about us?"

Alton smirked back, not acknowledging the painful handshake. "Well of course, how delightful Miss Duciel is, and how you ought to be careful that some other charming fellow doesn't come along and sweep her off her feet."

Tifa piped in, saying in a confident voice, "Oh, I don't think that will be an issue, I only have eyes for Rufus."

The dark haired man's expression didn't change, but he did reply, "Now, now, Miss Duciel. One never knows what fate might hold."

She gave a tight lipped smile in return and responded, "Well, I'd like to think that I have control of my own destiny." Her grip on Rufus' arm seemed to barely restrain her from balling up her fists.

Rufus could feel the tension in her skin-pinching grasp, but he ignored the unintentional pain she was inflicting on him.

Alton nodded. "I like your fire, Ms. Duciel. I'll wager that spark of yours is in every aspect of your persona. Now, I'm off to welcome my other guests, but we'll begin momentarily!" he said as he disappeared into the crowd.

Tifa placed her untouched champagne glass on a table nearby. "Begin what?" She asked tentatively, hoping her date had the answer.

He said nothing.

She studied him for a moment.

He seemed very fixated and angry. Something about that interaction with Alton seemed to get under Rufus' skin. He suddenly swigged the entire contents of his glass in one go.

"Are… you ok?"

He snapped out of his infuriated trance and glanced at her. "I'm fine. I just finally am certain of what he's after. What I don't know is how he intends to get it, though I know what he's capable of."

"Oh? What might 'it' be?" Tifa asked with trepidation.

A bell chimed from the dining hall, signaling to everyone that dinner seating was ready.

Rufus sighed. "We'll talk about it later. Let's just get dinner over with so we can get out of here."

Tifa's brow furrowed. "You don't have to tell me twice." She didn't like the uncertainty of Rufus' sudden mood change. It wasn't like him to be thrown off kilter in this type of situation.

The intensity he held in his clenched jaw was slightly softened as he placed a hand gently at the small of her back. His eyes seemed to flash with an unknown storm brewing in his head.

She walked alongside him into the formal dining room. Long tables were placed end to end to create one long table for all guests to sit at.

Alton stood at the front of the group, with a large and disconcerting grin on his face. "Welcome everyone; I'm honored to have you all in my home for the evening. At the table you will find your seats with your name resting on your plate. Please, be seated, dinner shall be served shortly."

Tifa felt uncomfortable at the thought of assigned seating, but she continued on at Rufus' side as they walked around the table looking for their names.

Rufus touched the back of a chair; Tifa watched as his grip tightened and pulled the seat out for her. Instantly her eyes shot to the adjacent seats, not seeing Rufus' name anywhere, but noticing that the name Alton Moore was placed next to hers. Her heartrate shot up significantly.

Rufus calmly helped her to sit and nonchalantly whispered in her ear, "I'm not sure what the game is here, stay on your toes. Run your fingers through your hair twice to signal if something's amiss."

Tifa swallowed as her mouth went dry, feeling the warmth of her escort dissipate. She watched as he circled around to the other side of the table, finding his seat a few chairs down, out of earshot from her own seat. Realizing how it must be incredibly rude for a guest to complain about seating arrangements, she understood why Rufus didn't raise a fuss. Lost in that thought, she nearly jumped when a gloved hand reached around her to fill her glass with iced water.

A young waiter smiled at her and asked, "May I get you a glass of wine, madam?"

She nodded after letting go of a deep breath that had been trapped in her lungs.

"Is everything alright madam? You seem a bit displeased."

Tifa cleared her throat and looked over a Rufus who casted her a reassuring look. She remembered to smile. "No, I'm fine, but that glass of wine sounds good. I'd like a chardonnay if you have it, please."

"Of course madam." The waiter bowed his head and walked away from the table.

She stiffened as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up slowly to see Alton smiling down at her.

"Ms. Duciel, I apologize, did the caterers fail to set the table order correctly? It seems you've been separated from your dinner date." He said as he sat down in the chair next to her as he let loose a cold and malicious sounding laugh.

Tifa didn't even need to glance in Rufus' direction to feel the icy stare he was shooting past her at Alton.

"Actually, in all truthfulness, no one is sitting next to their date. I had the table set this way so that everyone could get to know new people better without having to feel 'inhibited' by their partner. I figured it would be more interesting, getting people out of their comfort zone and helping them to make new acquaintances and friends." He leaned his head against his fist as he spoke to her. "I do hope that you aren't socially anxious when you're on your own, Ms. Duciel. Although I'd have a hard time believing that, considering Rufus has a keenly vested interest in you."

"Oh, of course not Alton; I'm just fine. So what do you have planned for dinner?" She asked with a forged but convincing smile. In her thoughts, Tifa cared little about the question she just asked aloud, but it was something for him to talk about while she straightened herself out. Just from the setup of this dinner party, and the fact that he had arranged for himself to sit next to her showed her just how sneaky and manipulative he could be.

While he prattled on about how grand the menu was, Tifa glanced at Rufus, who was in polite conversation with four beautiful women who had been seated around him. She knew that was another manipulation on Alton's part, hoping to stir jealousy between the two of them. Though, she had to admit, there was a tiny part of her that upon which it was working. The ladies' raucous laughter was more over the top than Alton's grandiose depiction of the meal to come. She could tell all four were trying to outdo each other. She rolled her eyes behind the cover of her closed lids and continued her false smile. "That sounds delicious, and I'm half starved. Will dinner be served soon?"

Alton gave a toothy grin and nodded his head. "But of course, my dear lady. I'll check to see if they're getting ready to serve the appetizers now." He got up from his chair and placed a hand on her bare shoulder again as he walked toward the kitchens.

She fought the urge to shudder. Again, she glanced Rufus' way to see how he was fairing. A flash of jealousy jolted through her as she witnessed the young woman sitting next to Rufus attempting to take a selfie with him with her PHS.

He quickly took the phone from her hand and Tifa could see him emit a chuckle, but his eyes didn't match his expression. He then leaned over and whispered into the woman's ear.

Tifa's cheeks flushed. Why was she allowing herself to feel this way? This was exactly the way she felt with Cloud before. In any case, she knew she needed to get a hold of herself.

"Madam, your chardonnay."

The voice behind her shattered her thoughts. The kind young waiter was back with her drink. "Oh, thank you ever so much."

"Of course madam; please let me know if I can be of any further service to you tonight, my name is Charlie." He nodded his head in respect and left.

She wished he didn't, she definitely didn't want to be alone with Alton.

"Ms. Duciel, it would appear appetizers will be here in just a few short moments."

" _Speak of the Devil,"_ Tifa thought as she turned and smiled as he sat down. "Fantastic, I can't wait. Alton, if you don't mind me asking; what do you do for a living?" She figured the only way to avoid an awkward atmosphere was to keep him talking about himself.

As if surprised by her question, or perhaps her interest in his business, he paused for a second with that unnerving flash of a grin on his face. "I'm in business with my father. You know that ShinRa is an electricity/power company that harvests energy. My father owns the largest business that retails and distributes that energy across the planet. I manage half of all the sales departments and I am a chairman on the board for the company. I'm usually off travelling most weeks, but I've taken a bit of a sabbatical. I've heard that you've taken a similar route in life, drifting from continent to continent since your parents passed away. Although your trips sound much more appealing, seeing as you were visiting all the different places you wanted. Did you have any particular destination that was your favorite?"

Tifa froze for a fraction of a second. She wasn't prepared for him to turn the conversation back on her. Just before she opened her mouth to start blathering without a chance to think it through, Charlie the waiter placed a sumptuous looking appetizer on the table in front of her.

"Here you are, one of my personal favorite appetizers, beef bruschetta with a truffle sauce drizzle. Pardon my interruption, I would like to go over the menu and take your dinner order, if you don't mind, madam."

" _That waiter seems to be very good with his timing,_ " Tifa thought with a relieved smile. "Of course, please."

Alton gave a slightly displeased and impatient sigh.

The waiter nodded his head with a smile and started with her menu choices. "For tonight's main course, we have three different entrées to choose from. First we have lamb chops with a delightful balsamic reduction; perhaps you'd enjoy the bleu cheese encrusted filet mignon drizzled in a port wine sauce, or maybe you would like to try the seared tuna in a sweet and spicy wasabi butter glaze?"

"That all sounds simply heavenly. I'm actually feeling pretty adventurous; I'll try the seared tuna, if you don't mind." Tifa replied, gaining her composure while the waiter took down her choice.

"Excellent choice madam, you won't be displeased." The waiter then turned to Alton and started his spiel again, leaving Tifa some time to weave the tale of her past in more distinct detail.

Once Alton had ordered his meal, he turned his attention back to Tifa instantly. "You were about to tell me your favorite destination." He said without missing a beat, as if he were desperate to hear her answer.

The immediacy of the question made her uncomfortable, more so than she already was. The one place she could honestly talk about was the one place her parents did take her when she was growing up. "I'd have to say, Cosmo Canyon is probably my favorite. The views are breathtaking, the culture is fascinating, and the view of the stars in that area is unmatched, maybe because there aren't many man made lights out there. There seems to be a true sense of freedom and connection to the planet there. I'm sure there are other places that are like that, but I haven't had a chance to visit one that comes close yet."

Her description seemed to make the grin slide off his face. "Is that so? I truly was expecting you to say something more touristy, like Gold Saucer or WuTai."

She quirked her eyebrow. "Well, they're fun and all, I suppose. You sound disappointed."

He shook his head in response. "No, no not at all. I think that your answer just serves to prove that you are more real than anyone had expected."

Now she was even more confused. "I beg your pardon?"

Alton chuckled. "My apologies, I'm not trying to offend you. I knew personally that you were unique to the type of girl that Rufus had normally been acquainted with before. When you showed up with him, there had been speculation that his old man had given him the ultimatum to settle down with a girl who had a spotless background or he wouldn't name him the next president. But I just want to form an opinion for myself. Do you mind if I ask how you two met?"

Finally she understood. Alton was testing her to attempt to confirm or debunk a mere rumor. "Well, seeing as though I don't pay attention to the rumors that surround me or Rufus, I'm not sure why it matters; however I guess people would be curious about it. He and I met at the Midgar Charity Gala. It was the first social party I decided to attend since my arrival in Midgar. I'm not really one for the glitz and glamour like many of the people that live in the upper plate and I've never liked the spotlight, but I do enjoy helping people so the Charity Gala seemed like a place I could meet like-minded people. I didn't know anyone, so I mostly kept to myself by the bar. Rufus happened to be getting a drink, and we hit it off."

Alton's sudden chuckle made her furrow her brows. "Pardon me, I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing because now it makes sense why he left that party so early. But I should say, Ms. Duciel, if you don't like the spot light, even though you thrive in it, you have an odd choice in men. Especially since his list of hobbies doesn't include charity work."

Her tolerance for his goading was waning. She needed to turn this up a notch to get him to back off. "My personal preference in men should matter little to you and to anyone else, Alton."

He smiled back at her in a strange way. "On the contrary, I'm very interested to know exactly what your type is. Is it tall, rich and handsome? Because, you know, there is more than one eligible bachelor that fits that description."

Tifa gave him an elegant chuckle but put on an indignant air. "Well, I haven't yet met one whose company I enjoy better than Rufus'. Now, if you don't mind, which way is the ladies' room, I need to powder my nose." She took a large gulp of her chardonnay and stood up to visit the restroom.

The short burst of shocked disdain on Alton's face was beyond entertaining for the moment, even if it did turn into a smirk of interest. He stood up as well to excuse her to the bathroom which he pointed out to her. She quickly made her way down the hall and closed and locked the door behind her. The bathroom was expensively furnished, with a chaise lounge and a large full size mirror. Tifa grabbed the counter and stared at her angry reflection. "Who the hell does he think he is?" She plopped down on the chaise for a moment, taking out her phone to text Rufus, but instead stopped shy of typing a message. "No, Tifa, this is one you can handle on your own. Alton just thinks he can buy whatever he wants. That's what he's trying on do."

After a few more minutes of internal pep talking, Tifa finally opened the door to walk into the hallway, inadvertently colliding face to chest with someone about to walk in. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry…" She looked up to see Rufus grinning down at her. Her heart skipped a beat seeing that smirk.

"Is everything going well? Anything I should be worried about? You took off rather quick from the table." He asked pointedly.

Tifa shrugged. "Well, it's like he's trying to buy me off you, dangling an offer of wealth over me. He doesn't seem to understand that money isn't the reason why I'm with you. I tried to throw a minor low key hissy fit to show him I'm offended at his behavior."

Rufus nodded, but looked grim. "I imagined that would be his next move. Although, since that usually works for him, I'm a bit concerned what his next notion might be because I doubt your indignation was a turn off."

She gave a side eyed glance down the hall to see if Alton was watching. Of course he was, as well as all four of the girls that were sitting around near Rufus. Tifa grinned and whispered, "Well in that case…" She reached up and grabbed Rufus by the back of the neck to pull his face closer to hers, pressing her lips to his in a sudden kiss. Even with her eyes closed, she knew Alton was still watching. This wasn't like the quick kiss on stage. This time, she felt Rufus' arm wrap around her waist, pulling her closer, the other hand at her neck, his fingers gently raking through the hair at her temple. This wasn't like the kiss in her kitchen at home, either. This time it felt like he was eager for this kiss rather than just receiving it. But she couldn't let it go on too long, lest it look like an act of desperation on their end. No, it had to look like a passing interlude. She let her lips break away from his and began to walk back to the table with a lingering look in Rufus' direction as her hand slid from his. She hoped it had looked exactly like a scene out of romance movie. She walked back to her seat with her confidence revitalized, even more so when she spied the looks on the faces of the witnesses.

* * *

A/N: Um. Hi. Seems like this is a common issue of mine where I fall off the face of the planet for an extended period of time…

Well, for now, I'm back, and currently dealing with some personal issues, but writing this fic is helping my emotions. Or perhaps distracting me, same difference. In any case, I went longer on this chapter as a peace offering, and I'm already in the process of writing the next chapter. There are a lot of places that I can take this fic, and my mind is brimming with the opportunities. For now, enjoy!


	16. The Choice

Rufus noticed that after Tifa established her dominance at in the hall, things seemed to calm down. Her demeanor changed, as did Alton's. He couldn't hear what they were talking about, but he could tell that it was much more tolerable a conversation than the previous. And it seemed he finally started conversing with the other people seated around them instead of focusing only on Tifa.

The girls he had been seated with also seemed to have deflated, but they did start asking him questions about Tifa and their relationship. He wondered why that one gesture was enough to take the wind out of their sails.

Tifa was far more resourceful than he'd originally given her credit for and killed two birds with one stone with a single, perfectly timed, spontaneous kiss. Rufus couldn't help but wonder if she was really that impressive of an actress, because even he was a believer that the kiss was as real as it could get. He could still feel the curve of her waist and her soft hair under his hands. It took him a moment to get his composure back.

Eventually everyone had finished dinner, conversation was dulling, and the two seemed to mentally agree that dessert was out of the question. He saw her shake her head at the waiter's suggestion and then her glance directly at him. He nodded in approval of her subtle request to leave. He cordially said goodbye to his dinner mates and began his way around the table to his date's recue from the evening.

"Alton, it seems we have another engagement to attend. I want to thank you for the dinner, it was delectable." The words tasted bitter as they left his mouth, but it wasn't a lie.

Tifa nodded in agreement as she looked from Rufus to Alton. "Yes, thank you for the invitation."

"Of course, wonderful of you both to come. It was a pleasure getting to know Ms. Duciel more this evening. Here, let me walk you to the door." The raven haired man stood up and pulled Tifa's seat back so that she could stand.

The three of them walked to the entrance and Rufus shook Alton's hand again. Alton smiled as he took Tifa's hand in his and kissed her knuckles. "Thank you again for coming, I hope to see you again soon."

It was easy to see that the sentiment was directed solely at Tifa. Rufus' jaw clenched, but the shadow of the evening hid his disdain.

Once in the solitude of their car, the two of them let loose a sigh. "I'm glad that's over with," Rufus said as he started the vehicle.

"You and me both. I was getting tired of listening to his voice ramble on and on. How was the conversation with the quadruplets?" Tifa asked, laughing.

"About how you'd expect. They did ask about us, though." He replied.

"Oh? What could they possibly want to know about us?"

"Well, they asked about how we met, if I thought you were the one, does my father approve; you know, questions that gold diggers usually ask when they realize that they don't have a chance. They probably wouldn't have even considered asking if it hadn't been for your power play." Rufus said with a grin.

"Well, they shouldn't be broken hearted for long, it seems like Alton is looking for a nice gold digger. And what do you mean by power play?" She replied coyly.

"Oh, you know, the not so subtle kiss in the hall. Was that for them, or for Alton?" he asked with a grin as he pulled up to her townhome, remembering the sensation of her lips on his.

" _Mostly it was for me…"_ she thought but decided against saying that out loud. "Both, I suppose. But mostly I needed to show Alton that it isn't money tying me to you, and that I can't be bought."

Rufus smiled as he opened the car door for her. "What an unusual notion that must be for him."

She shrugged as she got out of the vehicle. "It's sad that he operates that way. Not to mention creepy. Please tell me you've never used that approach to pick up women."

"I'm not that desperate for affection, and how dare you lump me in with him." He chuckled, though somewhat jabbed by her insinuation.

They stood on the porch for a moment as she searched for her keys. "I hope you know I'm joking, you are nothing like Alton."

"It helps to hear you say it." His words sounded more relieved than he wanted them to.

She unlocked the door and beckoned him to follow her inside. "Come on, let's de-stress over a bottle of wine."

He was surprised; he honestly thought she'd be exhausted from the night's endeavors. "With pleasure."

As she shut the door behind them, she realized she had a missed text. It was from the same number that Aerith had called her from not long ago. Curious, she opened the message and read the words, "Found this on one of the paparazzi sites." She clicked the link attached and was forwarded to an article that featured a picture, though somewhat low quality, of Rufus and herself kissing in the hall at Alton's. "Seriously?! Someone snapped a pic of us kissing at Alton's dinner party and posted it to a magazine site! It literally _just_ happened!"

Rufus laughed. "Are you really still surprised at that?"

Tifa thought for a moment, but then realized, "No, I guess I'm not. Here take a look for yourself. Maybe you can evaluate yourself on your technique again." She said, handing him her phone with a sarcastic grin.

Rufus took the phone from her with an unimpressed gaze, but had no witty retort. Turning his attention to the screen, he realized immediately from the angle of the picture that it had to have been one of the girls he had been sitting with, most likely capturing the poignant moment with her cellphone. He looked closely at the moment caught on camera. Tifa's demeanor was more assertive, obviously because she was the orchestrator this time. His own was something he'd never seen from himself in publication before; it was genuine – not forced, performed, fabricated or coerced. This time, he looked like he craved it.

She had drawn a hidden quality out of him without much effort at all. He recognized this feeling of revelation; it was the same as when he realized her veracity back at the farm. Not only did this quality of hers affect him, it affected all those around her. That was why everyone was instantly charmed by her; it was a relief from the air of falsities of his high society world. Even if she was acting as a socialite, she was incredibly _real._

"Hey, you okay? You're awful quiet over there… I mean, I didn't think you did _that_ bad." She said with a cautious chuckle and offered him a wine glass.

He snapped out of his deep musing and gave her a smirk. "I was just thinking that this was a major improvement over the last." He handed her phone back as he took the glass of wine and sipped it thoughtfully.

"Of course it was. It wasn't faked." She said with a knowing grin, bringing her own wine glass to her lips.

"Of the list of words I would use to describe you, psychic wasn't one. I guess I'll have to add it. It's becoming quite the list." He replied as he made his way to the couch in the living area to sit.

She followed him. "You have a list of words that describes me? Oh, well, now you have to tell me!"

Rufus laughed and shook his head with a playful grin. "Careful or I'll have to add narcissist to it as well. A man has to have _some_ secrets."

Tifa let loose a dramatically disappointed sigh as she plopped down on the couch next to him. "Fine. You keep your silly little list to yourself. Maybe I'll just start my own list."

He put his arm around her shoulder as she leaned her head against him. "You did really well despite the undue pressure tonight. And we're actually lucky one of the 'quadruplets' caught that picture. A candid photo from a private party is much better for the story we're trying to sell."

"Yeah, you had pretty good sense to not let that one take a selfie with you. Otherwise it could have been scandalous."

Rufus shrugged. "I can't have people thinking I'm getting cozy with other women. Plus, I could see the jealous look in your eyes." He said with a smirk.

"Hmm, maybe I should add 'wishful thinking' to my list for you." She smirked back.

"Ouch, my ego." Rufus feigned a painful wince.

Tifa chuckled and patted his arm in mock comfort as she sipped her wine, though she knew he had actually read her like a book.

* * *

Reno stood along the cliff, looking down at the destroyed reactor that resided just beyond the town of Gongaga. The shrill sound of a muffled ringtone rang out, echoing off the rocks. He pulled out his phone, glancing at the caller displayed on the screen before putting it to his ear. "Yo Boss."

"Reno, did Rufus inform you that he'd be attending a private function this evening, knowing you'd be on mission?" Tseng's impatient tone signaled his seriousness.

Covering for Rufus was starting to get a bit of an annoyance. "Yes, he cleared it with us. We didn't think much of it; it was just a dinner party."

"At Alton Moore's house. He hates Alton. What would have possessed him to go?" Tseng asked pointedly.

Reno shook his head. "I dunno, maybe he's realizing he's going to eventually need to do business with him and went to bury the hatchet? The Shinra's and the Moore's aren't mortal enemies, they're business partners. I mean, personally I woulda gone just for the free meal and booze."

Tseng was silent for a moment. "I suppose that would make sense, it's just… out of character. Has he mentioned anything strange to you? He just seems to be acting different lately. Oh, and when you get back, I'm going to need you to make a report on that girl he's been seen with; we need to know who she is so we can make an evaluation on her. The press has gotten wind of it and we need to make sure that we are ahead of the situation in case anything negative happens."

"Nah, he hasn't said anything weird to Rude or me. I'd say you were being paranoid, but I guess that's why you're paid the big bucks. Anyway, you got it boss; I'll make sure the report hits your desk by the end of the week." Reno hung up the phone and stuffed it in his pocket. He shook his head. Sometimes he forgot how much it sucked for Rufus to be the son of an energy tycoon. Every aspect of his personal business was discussed and dissected by the Turks as his bodyguards.

The walkie talkie at his hip crackled and Rude's voice came over the speaker. "Any signs of life up there?"

Reno answered back, "Nah, you're still good, bud. I don't think the locals come around too often. You haven't run into any trouble inside, have you?"

"Couple of monsters changed by the mako radiation, but other than that, it's been quiet. I've just got a couple more chambers to check out and I'll meet you back on the ridge."

"You got it buddy. Holler at me if you get cornered by a zombie or somethin'."

* * *

Cloud was on the edge of losing it. "Aerith, I'm gonna go stir-crazy if we don't find somethin' to do. I need to take my mind off this hare-brained plan that Tifa's a part of. At least Barrett had the good sense to go and visit with his daughter Marlene till this business blows over."

Aerith giggled. "You're wound way too tight. Maybe you just need a vacation? I think you just need to get out of Midgar for a while." She shot him a knowing grin. "Seeing her picture everywhere, reminding you that she's currently having the time of her life and you're stuck here doing nothing, you're not used to that, are you?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm used to always having a job, no time to rest, danger around every corner."

She poked his nose. "You are _so_ jealous that your friend is on an ultra-covert infiltration mission and you aren't, you can't _stand_ it."

He was silent for a moment. "…Maybe."

"That's it; I'm taking you on vacation. Let's go to WuTai. There's plenty of danger there, ninja's lurking about, we could possibly get some materia stolen and go on a mission to get it back… what do you say?" Aerith put her hands on her hips with a playful grin. "Teach me how to fight on the way there."

Cloud looked her up and down, trying to gauge whether or not she was being serious. "Who'd tend to the bar?"

"We'll close it for a bit. It's been pretty quiet in here the past couple weeks, I think it'll be fine." She grabbed his hand. "What do you say?"

"Well, I guess that might be fun… "

"Of course it will be fun, I'll be there." She began to pull him from his stool at the bar with a beaming smile.

He laughed, stood up and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Alright, alright. You win. Take me on vacation."

* * *

Tifa's eyes fluttered open, light was filtering into the room signaling morning, but she realized she wasn't in her bedroom. She rubbed the sleep out of an eye and looked around to notice that she was in the living room still from the night before. She blinked a few times to let her eyes adjust and nearly jumped a mile high when an arm snaked its way over her waist and pulled her closer to a warm body behind her. She craned her neck to look behind her and was somewhat shocked to see Rufus behind her on the couch, eyes serenely closed, sleeping heavily with his head propped up on a decorative pillow. Soft, low breaths tickled the back of her neck, causing goose bumps.

Tifa flushed red as she realized they must have had a little too much wine the night before and fell asleep in each other's arms, but she couldn't help but to smile. She was only too relieved they both were still wearing their clothes from the night before. Otherwise, this particular morning could have had the potential to be much more awkward.

Still, the warmth, closeness and the fact that he'd pulled her closer to him in his sleep was a welcome feeling and she didn't want to move. She strained to see the time on his watch. 8:30 was later than she normally slept, but her current situation had her deciding back and forth whether or not to get up.

Her thoughts floated back to the night he asked if she wanted to pursue an actual, genuine relationship. It was a strange question at the time, considering they were already feigning a relationship. Up till now, she hadn't lent the idea much serious thought. But now she was wondering if it was something she truly wanted. She couldn't deny she had a commanding chemistry with him. And so far, they hadn't lied to each other. She found herself relying on his emotional stability when hers were running boundless on more than one occasion. They laughed together, they teased each other, and he seemed to know when to come to her rescue, and when to stand back and let her fight the battle herself.

Honestly, the only drawback she could make up was the unforeseeable future, after her part of the operation was over. Did she really think she could go on being Tiffany Duciel forever? Would she outlive the usefulness that Rufus currently saw in her?

Tifa let loose a soft sigh and ever so carefully lifted Rufus' arm off of her. She rolled off the couch and knelt as she gently rested his hand back on the cushion. She rested her elbow on the arm of the couch and leaned her head against her fist. She couldn't help but notice how placid he looked in his sleep, so sweet. She stroked some of the fallen wisps of soft blond hair out of his face and smiled. Something in her heart radiated throughout her chest as she knelt there, watching him sleep; and with a bit of apprehension, she admitted to herself that she was indeed falling in love with Rufus Shinra.

His hand shot out and grabbed her by the wrist firmly, but not painfully. The surprise move almost knocked her backward. Wild blue eyes stared up at her, adjusting to their surroundings. Unblinking for a moment, they closed when he realized who he was looking at. He hastily released her wrist.

She giggled at his reaction but gave him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to wake you."

He rubbed a hand over his face and sat up slowly, one eye uncovered to look at her. "No, its fine, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you like that. I'm just… not used to being touched while I'm sleeping." He looked around the room. "I guess I fell asleep on the couch?"

His demeanor was different in the morning, it was much less guarded. Tifa thought it was adorable. She shrugged, still kneeling on the floor. "Yeah, uh… we both did. I woke up and we were spooning."

Rufus chuckled. "I suppose we both had a bit too much wine last night." He froze for a moment, and then gave a sigh of relief when he realized both her and his own clothes from the night before were intact, save for his jacket tossed across the love seat. That was the last thing they needed at this stage, a misguided and drunken one night stand in the middle of their false relationship.

She giggled again when she figured out what he was relieved about, but it made her happy that he respected her enough to have that reaction. "It appears that we were both responsible adults last night." She got up off the floor the sit next to him on the couch. "But I do think that we need to talk."

Rufus' eyebrow quirked. "That sounds… serious."

"Well, it is. I need to know where you stand on a couple of things."

Rufus suddenly felt like he was in an interrogation room and Tifa the interrogator. _"Is she going to scold me about the unnecessary closeness last night?"_ He nodded slowly and mentally steeled himself before he answered. "All right, shoot."

She smiled at him. "If we did follow through with a real relationship, how would we handle it after I take out your father?"

Well that was a question he wasn't expecting. It took him a moment to process. "I suppose since everyone knows you as Tifa Duciel, you might have to keep the act going afterward for a while. You could still do good work with that name, considering the influence that goes along with it. You could use it to your advantage when rallying people to start believing in changes from the company when we start to discuss other power generation."

She nodded as she thought about that. "True, good point. But what happens if you and I just don't work out?"

"You still have your old name intact, and you still have your friends to go back to." He studied her, trying to figure out what was going on in her head.

"You swear that? If we don't end up working out in the long run, I'm free to go, just like that?"

He was a bit taken aback. "Tifa, you aren't a prisoner. We have a mutual agreement."

"No, I know that I'm not a prisoner now. But I just have to know that I'm protected on the back end after your father's gone if we have a falling out, I need to be completely sure there isn't some blowback on me or my friends." She said as the thought burned in the back of her mind.

" _Ah, so there_ _ **is**_ _still the tiniest sliver of doubt still there."_ He couldn't blame her, she was from AVALANCHE, and he was the son of ShinRa. "I'm not sure how I could convince you, but I'm not the grudge-holding type. I mean, you'd have to do something terrible to me for that to even cross my mind…" He said with a smirk.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You mean like drug you, stuff you in a trunk, and lock you up in a chocobo stall?"

"I think we're already even on that front, given that my Turks turned that kidnapping around on you and caused you an anxiety attack." He replied with a shrug.

She laughed. "Good to know. Just so you're aware, I'm not 100% sold on this just yet, but I'm willing to give it a go."

He quirked an eyebrow. "I've never had to attempt to sell the idea of a relationship with me; this is a bit of a first."

She laughed again. "Well, apologies for your ego, but don't feel like I'm apprehensive because I'm not interested, because that definitely not it. There are just a lot of unknowns on my end." She said as she patted his leg.

"Fair enough, I suppose. This is unmapped country for me too." He placed his hand on hers.

"Well, I guess we can explore it together." She replied with a smile.

* * *

A/N: BAM. Another update, this time in about week. Things are moving along with the potential lovebirds, and Cloud and Aerith are getting closer. I'm sure we'll check in on them again soon. I'm thinking there will be some more action in the next few chapters! Let me know you're still out there, please review! Til next time!


	17. The Wrench in the Plan

Reno leaned lazily against the wall of the elevator as it made its ascent to his boss' floor. He had prepared the file on "Tiffany Duciel" for Tseng to look over. This file would probably end up on President Shinra's desk, which was the next phase of the plan, to pique his interest.

The ornate doors opened and he stepped toward Tseng's office, whistling a tune. As he entered, Tseng hung up his phone and held out an open hand. "Well good morning to you too, boss." He said sarcastically as he handed the file to the dark haired man behind the desk.

Tseng sighed. "It's a decent morning. The President was just asking about this girl. Sometimes I wonder why he can't just call Rufus and ask himself." He shook his head and opened the file; a picture of her from the night at the Annual Shinra Gala was attached to the report. "I can see why he's been hanging around with her. Knowing Rufus' judgment, I'm sure she's a safe consort, but we can't be too careless. Perhaps he really is growing up and realizing that he is going to be next President someday."

Reno gave a knowing grin. "Yeah, he really likes this girl. I honestly think she's good for him."

Tseng nodded. "It will do him some good to actually have someone care for him." He said with a sad smile. "Alright, I'll go over this today and report back to the President. You're reporting to Rufus today, correct?"

Reno nodded. "Yep, it's just me today; Rude's got a couple of days off. I'm headed that way now."

"Good. Let him know that his father will want to plan a family dinner sometime soon. I'm sure that he will want to meet this Ms. Duciel."

Reno gave his boss a casual salute and walked out the door to head on to his next boss' office. He wondered how dinner went for Rufus and Tifa's at Alton's; he still felt guilty about his negligence the night that he had been followed to Tifa's townhome.

He said hello to the busy office workers as he made his way across the floor to Rufus' office, but was surprised to find the door locked. _"He's never late to work; his apartment is on his work floor for Pete's sake…"_ He turned to a receptionist and jabbed his thumb in the direction of the office door. "Is he sick?"

The receptionist shrugged with a flustered look on her face. "I don't know, he hasn't come out of there yet today, and he hasn't buzzed in to let me know anything. I don't dare call him; the President once cursed me out for calling to check on him when he was late."

Reno laughed. "Rufus isn't like his dad, but don't worry 'bout it, I'll check on him." He took out his key and entered the office to find it empty. He walked over to the apartment door and buzzed in, waiting for an answer. Nothing. "I swear to God, if you're dead in here, I quit, I ain't dealin' with that fallout." He called out as he poked his head in the front door. More silence. He checked all the rooms, no one was home.

He whipped out his phone and speed dialed Rufus, but it went to voicemail. He looked at his watch. It was 8:45am. Rufus was normally dressed and fully ready for work by 7:00am. " _Could he be at Tifa's? Jesus, I was only gone for two days. I guess he really took that talk we had to heart…"'_

Rufus' assigned ringtone suddenly reverberated through the apartment. Reno smirked as he answered, "Oh, so you _are_ alive. You had me worried for a sec, boss."

A rather tired sounding voice answered him smartly, "Yes, I'm alive. I'm at Tifa's townhouse, and before you even think of a smart remark referring to my whereabouts, just know that it'll cost you a dock next paycheck."

Reno chuckled. "Daaaamn, you're no fun. So can the office expect you to grace them with your presence today? You sound hungover." It was quiet for a second, and then he heard muffled talking, and then muffled laughing.

Rufus then replied, "No, I think I'm going to play hooky today. Inform the receptionist to take my messages. I'll be back tomorrow."

"Okay, no work for Rufus today, got it. Good, 'cuz we should probably discuss a few things, I'll head over in a bit, make sure y'all are both dressed when I get there." The young Turk remarked with a grin.

"Aaaand there it is; I hope it was worth it." Rufus said with a chuckle and hung up.

Reno smiled. One of the best things that Tifa was doing for Rufus was getting him to lighten up and Reno noticed that he seemed much happier since she'd shown up.

* * *

Once he finished business at the ShinRa HQ, he headed to Tifa's house. He parked in the driveway and made his way up the front walk to knock on the door.

The door opened and Tifa smiled up at Reno. "Good morning! Come on in."

He followed her inside and looked around. "'Mornin'. So, uh, where's Rufus?"

Tifa poured a cup of coffee and handed it to Reno. "He's taking a shower."

The redheaded Turk took the cup and sat down at dining room table. "Thanks. So it looks like you two are gettin' close. Did I miss somethin' when I was away?" he asked with a grin before taking a sip.

She smirked at him. "I don't know what you're talking about Reno; you know we're supposed to be acting like we're in love. That's what we're doing."

He was quiet for a moment. "…Yeah… but y'all are over here playing house when no one's watching..."

Tifa poured two more cups of coffee and held one out with a bewitching grin as Rufus walked into the kitchen in sweatpants and a white tee shirt, drying his hair with a towel draped around neck. He took the mug from Tifa and kissed her temple. "Thanks, Tifa."

"You're welcome, Rufus." She said as she sipped her coffee with one hand and wrapped her other arm around Rufus' waist.

Reno's mouth hung slightly open as he stared from Tifa to Rufus.

"You wanted to talk to us about something?" Rufus asked nonchalantly.

"YOU TWO TOTALLY GOT TOGETHER FOR REAL WHILE I WAS GONE!" Reno all but yelled with a huge grin on his face, pointing a finger at them.

Tifa winced and put a hand to her ear. "Reno, easy, I have neighbors."

Rufus sat down across from Reno at the dining room table. "We have simply decided to follow your advice."

Tifa narrowed her eyes. "What advice?"

Reno smiled at her. "I told him to quit trying to fight his feelings. If you guys wanted to look like you were in a real relationship, you should quit pretending to only pretend to like each other."

"Uh…" It took a moment for what he said to register correctly in her brain.

The redhead beamed at Rufus. "So when did this happen?"

Rufus shook his head. "We just talked about it together this morning. I had a couple of realizations last night, a decided that you were right."

"Oh yeah, I was gonna ask, how did Alton's thing go? We were surprised you decided to since the guy's such a dick." The Turk replied.

Tifa sighed. "We think Alton likes me. He tried to imply that Rufus wasn't the only eligible rich man."

Rufus shook his head and looked at Reno. "No, I know he wants her. He's got that same look in his eye when he looks at you; just as whenever he saw something I had that he wanted while we were growing up."

"Well, for one thing, I'm not a possession…" she said as she crossed her arms.

"He doesn't see it that way. You are something that I 'have,'" Rufus said, emphasizing with fingers quotes, "that he doesn't, and so he wants you. And now since he knows it's not money you're after, it's now a challenge for him."

Reno shook his head. "Well Rude and I will take turns swingin' by your place from time to time to check on you. There's no telling what that dude will do to get what he wants."

"I appreciate that, but will he really not listen if I just tell him 'No, go to hell?'" Tifa asked as she picked up her coffee to take another sip.

Rufus shook his head. "No. That might just make him try something more desperate."

"Great." She said as she sat down at the table with the boys.

Reno shrugged. "We've got bigger fish to fry. Tseng said your dad will probably be lookin' to schedule a 'family dinner' sometime soon so you can introduce him to your new arm candy."

Tifa narrowed her eyes at Reno, but chose to ignore the remark. "Well that's good, right? Would it be a private dinner?"

Rufus nodded curtly. "Most likely. We don't really do the whole 'going out to dinner as a family' thing."

"Well, we should schedule it soon, right?" Tifa folded her hands together and leaned her chin to rest on them.

The blonde man to her right was quiet for a moment. "Well… Perhaps we should wait a bit longer. I think we need to do a few more public appearances, and I think you may need to show up at the office once or twice to get the office water cooler talk going. If you're coming to see me at work, he'll know I'm being serious. I don't let people visit me at work."

Reno was quiet for a moment too. His boss raised a couple good points, but he couldn't help but feel as though he was making excuses; however, this was his plan, he decided to stay silent.

Tifa nodded. "All right then, I think I can swing that, even though I'm so terribly busy during the day." She added with dramatic sarcasm.

Rufus shook his head. "You do know that you can call a taxi and go check out the sights on the upper plate, right? You don't have to stay holed up in here. It's safer to walk around up here than in is in any of the sectors underneath." He stood up and walked over to the counter where his wallet lay and took out a wad of cash. "Here. Take it, this way you don't have to dip into your stipend, and you can go shopping sometime this week. It'll do you some good to get out and walk around for some personal time."

Tifa blanched at the fat roll of money he was trying to hand her. "Rufus, that's really not necessary…"

"Tifa, I'm not giving this to you out of charity or trying to buy you off. This is simply my way of ensuring that you have at least _some_ fun while you're here by yourself. It's really no different than me taking you out to a nice dinner." He shrugged.

She looked up at him. "Oh alright, fine."

* * *

Two days later, Tifa found herself enjoying the sights in the Museum and Theatre districts of the upper plate. There was so much to see. The air was a quite a bit clearer up here as well, so the sun could be seen through the haze.

So far, she hadn't spent much money; she just went to a couple of the museums and an art gallery and was having lunch at a trendy little bistro.

She did plan to see a play; the only matinee showing for the day was called "The Power of Love", which didn't particularly sound spectacular, but she was eager for the experience nonetheless.

As she snacked on her rather expensive croissant sandwich, she noticed that she was getting the odd glance every now and then, and caught a few people whispering in each other's ears whilst motioning their heads at her. She could only assume this was one of the things Rufus had to endure on a day to day basis, but she couldn't help but wonder how it was possible that she was already fairly well known. She merely chuckled as she politely ignored them and finished her sandwich.

Tifa left the bistro with her head held high and a smile on her face, confidence radiating about her. She knew it wouldn't do to have people catch her feeling embarrassed about the attention. As she walked down the street toward the theatre, a shop window caught her eye. Displayed inside were a few different accessories that men typically wore: beautifully patterned ties, pocket watches, wrist watches, money clips, and sun glasses. She thought about all of the clothes and accessories that Rufus had bought her, and even though they had been purchased with their plot in mind, each item had been carefully picked out and thoughtfully applied to Tifa herself. She wondered if he would accept a gift for himself. Of course, she would buy it using her own money, because it would mean nothing if she bought him a gift with the money he gave her. Shrugging her shoulders, she walked into the store, made her purchase, and left smiling as she placed the small package in her purse.

She reached the theatre and bought her ticket, and she was shown to a private balcony seat with a wonderful view of the grand stage. The balcony was lavishly decorated she noted, and a steward brought her a glass of chilled champagne. She felt a little silly, sitting up in that balcony box all alone, but the show soon started and her attention centered on that. It was a romantic comedy that soon had her laughing along with the rest of the crowd, even if it was a bit immature.

A few times during the play, the steward returned to refresh her glass of champagne, and though she could hear him approach just barely over the din of the theatre's ambiance, she paid him little attention other than to thank him after he'd poured. She heard someone approach again, right before the crowd burst into a cacophony of laughter; but this time instead of seeing arms pouring a bottle of champagne, a rather sudden and gruff hand was pressed over her mouth and nose as she was pulled forcefully against someone attempting to keep her from struggling. A sickly sweet smell emitted from a cloth in the assailant's hand over her mouth. Her heart raced as realized what was happening; she attempted to struggle or even scream, but the more she fought, the harder she breathed, the more tired and heavy she felt.

The colors and light of the theatre faded into darkness.

* * *

Rufus finished signing the stack of papers on his desk before glancing at his watch. He shook his head as he realized that he'd worked later than he'd wanted, and it was already a quarter past six. He fished his cell phone from his coat pocket and checked the screen for any missed texts or calls, but the notifications were empty. He was slightly surprised that Tifa hadn't called him when he was supposed to be off work, but then remembered she'd told him that she'd planned to go out on the Upper Plate that day. As he was dialing her number to check in, the office door opened and Reno popped his head in.

"Hey bo- oh, sorry, you're on the phone." Reno shrugged, entered and promptly plopped down in a vacant guest chair.

Rufus nodded to acknowledge Reno's entry, and sat quietly as he listened to the ringing tone once, twice, three times, then to Tifa's voicemail. Slightly perturbed, he dialed again, fully expecting her to answer this time. Again, three rings to her voicemail. He moved his focus to Reno. "She isn't answering her phone."

The Turk took his own phone out and dialed Tifa's number. "Hm, maybe she's avoiding you." He teased his boss before he listened to the same three rings and voicemail message. "Nope, nothing for me either."

Rufus shook his head. "The last time she texted me was a little after lunch, she said she was going to see a play, and she was going to head home after that. I'm going to check her security system." He quickly used his desk computer to log onto her home security logs. The system had been armed when she left that morning, and had not been unarmed all day. "She isn't at home." He finally said, blankly looking at the screen.

Reno was trying to read Rufus' lack of expression. "Well, has she ever forgotten to tell you where she's at?"

Rufus shook his head again, still a blank look on his face. "No, she established from the very beginning that I would need to know her whereabouts if she went anywhere, for her own safety."

"Shit. Okay, so you said the last place she was at was a play?" The redheaded Turk realized what was off about his boss. It was like he was frozen. He had barely blinked.

"Yes, she wanted to see the Claymore Theatre. I told her… shit. I told her to try a box seat in a balcony. You don't think that imbecile Alton really did go and kidnap her?" Rufus rubbed his face with a hand in disbelief.

Reno couldn't believe that he was the calm one in the room at that moment. His boss was hardly ever this visibly perplexed. "We don't know anything for sure. But we should go up to the theatre and check things out there first. In the meantime, keep calling her. Just remember, she's a tough cookie, I doubt that if she _was_ taken that the perps will have an easy time."

Rufus finally blinked and nodded as he stood up and grabbed his wallet and keys. "You're right. Let's head to the theatre." He hadn't felt this sentiment in many years. His heart rate hadn't slowed down since his mind had settled on the possibility of her abduction.

The worst case scenarios played through his head. Bludgeoned, left for dead down a dank, decrepit alleyway. Chained down, unable to fight back…

He shook his head violently to clear the bleak thoughts as he followed Reno down to the car. He could only hope that she was safe wherever she was.

* * *

Severe nausea and a headache soon brought Tifa to consciousness. She lifted her head up, only to realize that her neck was kinked and sore from her awkward sitting-sleeping position in a stiff metal folding chair. More to the point, she also couldn't move her arms or feet, and she felt as though she had a giant wad of cotton jammed in her mouth. She attempted to call out into the darkness, but only a muffled moan escaped. There was a handkerchief gag over her mouth, and it appeared she did have some sort of cloth stuffed in her mouth as well to keep her from talking. Her eyes were tightly covered with yet another handkerchief, which probably accounted for the headache.

Temporarily blinded and unable to speak, Tifa felt extremely alone and vulnerable, but she kept her composure. It was best to find out where she was and who was around before she could conduct a decent assessment of her situation. She called out again, she really did need water, and the nausea threat did not calm her nerves, especially having the cloth in her mouth.

A gruff sounding male voice with a bit of a northerner's accent noted to someone else, "Hey, I think she's wakin' up." Tifa did not recognize the voice, nor did she recognize the other male voice that responded with, "Yeah, looks like it. I'll make the call."

Tifa felt someone loosen the handkerchief and pull the cloth out of her mouth. She decided to play the wilting flower. "Please, I need water; I'm going to be sick."

"Yeah yeah, shut up or I'll put the gag back on." She heard the man walk away for a moment before walking back. A hand grabbed her hair at the crown of her head and yanked backward, causing her to yelp in pain, but only for a second before ice cold water was poured over her face. She sputtered in surprise before opening her mouth and thirstily gulping up as much as she could before he released her hair and stopped pouring.

The cold water soaked into the handkerchief on her eyes, somewhat soothing her headache. The nausea subsided a bit. Feeling a bit bold, she dared to ask a question to her captor. "What do you want from me?"

"I told you to shut up, bitch." The back of a hand came down across her cheek and jaw, but it wasn't the hardest Tifa had been hit before. Her head snapped to the side, aggravating the crick in her neck. She ran her tongue over her bottom lip to find that it had been split at the corner by the strike; blood was now trickling in droplets off the side of her chin. Obviously she wasn't going to get any information from this guy.

The man seemed to notice that his blow wasn't to the effect he expected, and she didn't appear to be crying. "Heh, well I can see why that Shinra kid lets you hang around, you're not a whiney bitch like the rest of those rich skanks."

Tifa remained silent. So this most likely had something to do with Rufus.

The man laughed. "And smart too. You know how to bite your tongue. If you stay quiet, I keep that pretty little mouth of yours uncovered."

She really wished she had her steel toe boots on. She also wished she could move her hands and feet. She seemed to be bound to the chair itself. The years of being an eco-terrorist had hardened her pain tolerance and had taught her to keep a cool head in dire situations. Still, she hated being restricted, but at least she wasn't in a trunk.

The other voice returned. "Hey man, the contact is in route to confirm identity and provide payment. You took her gag off?"

"Yeah. She's a good little hostage, she knows we're serious. Pretty little thing though. It's a shame, really. Look, that water soaked though her shirt. She's got a great pair of tits. Think we ought to take her picture for her boyfriend?"

"The contact hasn't said what we're gonna do with her yet, it isn't clear if this is a ransom situation, teaching a lesson, or a snuff film. We're not sending out anything until we know. With any luck, we might still get to have a little fun with her before we get rid of her."

" _They're being awfully careful not to mention who's behind all this. I don't know how long I've been out; I don't know what time it is, or where I am for that matter. These guys are experienced at this. This is serious."_ Tifa wriggled a bit to try to get some blood flow into her hands, opening and closing them a few times to relieve the pressure. She realized that they had bound her with zip ties. In the position she was in, she wasn't going to be able to break them, especially without getting her captor's attention.

She was just going to have to bide her time. She wondered if Rufus had noticed she was missing yet.

* * *

"Why yes sir, there was a girl escorted out during the matinee show. Her boyfriend apologized to us and said she'd had too much champagne, and hadn't eaten all day. She was completely knocked out. He asked if we'd let them out the back alley, he didn't want her to be embarrassed being carried out onto the street."

Rufus' rage intensified. "And you really believed that line of bull shit?! She was being kidnapped, right under your nose!"

The manager scoffed, "Sir, it is not my responsibility to determine whether someone is being kidnapped or not. I was told she was intoxicated, she looked it, therefore I believed it. I didn't know who either of them were."

Reno grabbed Rufus' arm before he could rear back for a punch. "Boss, why don't you go wait in the car, I'm going to ask a few more questions." He said with the most serious face he could muster.

Silently, Rufus jerked his arm away from Reno before leaving the foyer, absolutely fuming. He couldn't believe this was actually happening. As he walked outside, he clenched his fists and got into the car, slamming the door shut with enough force to shake the entire vehicle.

Once he was done with the manager, Reno waited for a moment before opening the driver side door. He'd never seen his boss this out of sorts and livid before. He was almost afraid to get in the car, but grinned as he realized that Rufus truly did have a soft spot for Tifa. As he started the engine, he looked at Rufus, who was leaned against his window, rubbing his temples with his eyes clenched shut. "Hey man. We'll find her. We just need to find the trail."

He didn't respond. He released a breath that had been trapped in his lungs and opened his eyes. "Head to Alton's. Now." He said in a monotone voice.

Reno had no choice but to silently comply. Logically, that was the next lead to look into, but having no evidence to back up the line of questioning was going to be a hurdle to overcome for information. He was worried that his boss might do something rash. But he dare not argue with Rufus, not now.

It didn't take long to reach the Moore Manor. Surprisingly, the front gate was still open, even though it was well into the evening. Reno had barely stopped the car before Rufus stormed out and up the front stairs to pound on the door. The Turk flew up the stairs behind his boss.

A maid answered the door with a bit of confusion and trepidation in her eyes. "Yes Master Rufus, can I help you?"

"Where is Alton? I need to speak with him immediately." Rufus answered curtly.

"My apologies, Master Rufus, but he's gone out this evening. He left about an hour ago." She replied, biting her lip, reminding Rufus of one of Tifa's quirks.

Reno cut in, hoping to ease the tension in the air. "Miss, do you know where he went? It really is important that we speak to him. It's urgent business."

"I believe he left to pick up a few things for an upcoming trip. He ought to be returning shortly, if you'd like to wait on the settee in the den." She opened the door to allow them inside and showed them to the room where they'd be waiting.

Reno thanked the maid before she walked away. Rufus didn't sit. Instead, he paced back and forth while Reno leaned against the wall, watching. He was becoming aggravated with his boss' current lack of level headedness. He finally voiced it. "Rufus. Stop worrying. We don't know anything yet, so you shouldn't assume the worst. I need your head in the game here, man."

"I shouldn't have told her to go out by herself."

"Seriously? There was no way you could have possibly thought anyone would try this. She's not a zoo animal, you can't just keep her in a cage and take her out for people to look at." Reno pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. "She's also not a defenseless kitten either. Remember the amount of fist sized dents in the trunk of the car? Before you came along, she was blowing up your dad's reactors, you can't just _waltz into_ one of those, they're high security and have _plenty_ of SOLDIER guards. It's not her first rodeo with this type of thing, and she isn't going to blame you." He shook his head.

Rufus stopped his pacing. Reno was right. Some of the weight lifted off his shoulders. He sighed and collapsed onto the couch. "I know. But just the thought that someone had the audacity to take her in the middle of the day in the packed Theatre District. What is the endgame here? I don't get it."

"We'll figure it out, and we'll get her back. For right now, you need to get it together. You're useless to me if you start acting out of emotion instead of how you were trained." Reno hated using the tough guy approach, but it seemed to be the only thing Rufus would respond to.

His boss merely glared at him, but did give an affirmative nod.

* * *

A/N: Longer chapter, ending in a CLIFFHANGER. I've already started the next chapter! Please leave me a review, let me know what you think so far!

See ya next time!


	18. The Remergence of Fear

The snap of a flip phone closing startled Tifa after a long bout of silence. "The contact is here. I'll go meet them outside and discuss course of action and negotiate our take. You stay with her."

Tifa heard the loud creak and clank of a metal door as it closed. She also heard what sounded like the pages of a book or a magazine being turned.

"Ya know, you're really pretty when you're all gussied up. They got your picture all over the place in these Midgar magazines. "

She stayed quiet.

"What's the matter, cat got your tongue?"

"You told me to stay quiet." She said as timidly as she could. She flinched as she felt fingertips grip her chin.

"And you have, just like a good girl should. But still, I like watching that pretty mouth of yours move."

Tifa shuddered as she felt his hand trace down from her chin to the flesh of her throat, grabbing the collar of her shirt and pulling it toward him, obviously so he could get a good look. Anger burned in her chest as she gritted her teeth. Had her legs not been tied to the leg of the chair she sat in, she would have kicked him, just to make him take his hands off her.

Luckily, before his hands wandered any more, Tifa heard the metal door creak open once again. The man's hands flew off of her like she was an electric fence.

She heard two sets of footsteps approach her. There was a familiar scent in the air but it only served to make her stomach churn from her prior nausea.

One of her captors asked, "Can you confirm this is the target?"

A bout of silence ensued before a strange voice that sounded unnatural replied, "Yes, you did well." The voice spoke like it was digitalized, as if a robot were speaking. "Proceed. I have another engagement to attend to."

With no further conversation, Tifa still had no idea what these people had planned for her, and the mysterious contact left her alone once again with her kidnappers.

* * *

Rufus' patience was wearing severely thin. Each minute that ticked away felt like an hour. If Alton was behind this, Rufus had vowed that he would kill him, or think up something far worse than death. He wasn't sure if he would have the ability to hold back that rage.

Finally, the door to the den opened and Alton entered the room. "What's all this about urgent business, Rufus? Don't you think it's a little late in the evening to be dropping by for business meetings?" There was a look of agitation on his face as he addressed his guests without even greeting them first.

Rufus stood up from the couch, strode across the room and promptly punched Alton squarely in the face.

Reno facepalmed. " _So much for getting his head in the game."_

Due to the force of the blow, Alton's head snapped to the side as he staggered backwards, bracing himself against a wall. "What the bloody hell, Rufus?! What the fuck was that for?"

Rufus ignored the question and instead asked his own with a complete lack of emotion on his face. "Where is Tifa?"

"What are you talking about? Did you lose her already?" The dark haired young man remarked sarcastically, holding his jaw where he was struck.

There was red creeping into Rufus' vision, his blood was boiling. He grabbed Alton by his shirt and slammed him against the wall. "I don't think you grasp the severity of the current situation. Tifa was drugged and taken against her will today while she was out in the Theatre District today." His calm tone was betrayed by the anger slowly starting to seep into his features.

"And I'm to understand that you think I had something to do with that?" Alton, despite being punched and slammed into a wall, remained calm. "Come now Rufus, why would I do that? I'm capricious, but even I know that I really don't have anything to gain from kidnapping the girl. I wanted her to fall for me, not scare the shit out of her." He narrowed his eyes at Rufus as he studied him, and then laughed. "You actually do care for her. Wow. That's a first. No wonder you're so pissed, and no wonder you thought I'm the culprit." He put his hands on Rufus' arms and pushed them off his shirt, pausing to straighten out the wrinkles.

"…What?" Suddenly the color drained from Rufus' face.

"I was just trying to save the girl from heartache, she seemed to genuinely like you, and I hate seeing nice classy girls wasted on guys who are only using them as a means to an end. You see, I heard a rumor going around that your dear old dad won't be handing over the company to you until you find a nice rich girl with a good background to settle down with. So, naturally I thought you picked her because no one knew anything about her and she fit the criteria, and she looked amazing on your arm. You've never had anything resembling a long term relationship, and certainly have never paraded a girl around various parties, and, let's be honest, everyone knows how your dad is. I thought you were using her, so I was attempting to save the poor girl. Look, I'm a romantic at heart. I see for myself that you really do care for her, now. Otherwise you wouldn't have stormed my house and attacked me all fury-blind. Honestly, it would appear we really don't know each other as well as we thought."

Reno's eyes widened, Rufus fell back a few steps. Both of them looked at each other. If Alton didn't have her, then who did? Rufus suddenly realized, he would have much rather Alton had taken her. He had already known he wouldn't have hurt her. They still had no knowledge about what had really happened to Tifa, if someone was hurting her, if she was even still alive, or why they had even taken her in the first place.

They were back at square one.

Alton shook his head and wiped his bloodied cheek, getting back to the important subject. "Why would anyone want to kidnap her? Have you been contacted for ransom or anything?"

Both Reno and Rufus shook their heads. "There are no leads. She was at a play inside the theatre when she was taken. The kidnapper drugged her or knocked her out and basically carried her out the back door after he told the manager she was drunk." The Turk replied, noticing his cell phone had chirped. He took it out and gave a small sigh of relief. "Well, we just got the video from the lobby of the theatre and the back alley; courtesy of that Manager you wanted to punch, Rufus."

Rufus ignored the jab and joined Reno to look at the screen. Alton joined to look over Reno's shoulder as well.

The first video started with a large framed, muscular man carrying Tifa down the stairs and speaking to the manager. He had messy brown hair and a square jaw, but really didn't look out of place to be a customer at the theatre. After he left out the back hallway, and the manager had returned to his office, another man came down the stairs, this one was thin, had glasses, slicked back black hair, and a parse goatee. He soon followed down the same path as the first man.

In the second video, in the alley, the first man was putting Tifa in the back seat of a taxi cab, while the other rummaged through her purse, pulling out her cell phone and tossing it into a nearby trashcan. The time stamp on the video put her kidnapping at 2:30. Rufus looked at his watch. It was currently 8:30. She had already been missing for six hours.

Anger was once again welling up inside Rufus. He didn't recognize either of the two men.

"Jesus, you weren't kidding. She really was kidnapped." Alton remarked.

Reno shook his head. "These guys seem to know what they're doing. They ditched her phone so we can't trace her, _but_ , we do have a name for the taxi service, and the number taxi. We can call the company and find out where that Taxi is right now, or who drives it."

"Get on it, Reno. We need to find her immediately." Rufus sat down on the couch and put his head in his hands. There was a severe pressure in his head.

Reno was already dialing and making phone calls.

Alton went to the corner of the den and poured a couple glasses of bourbon. He made his way back over to Rufus and held out a glass. "Here. You look like you need a drink to calm your nerves. I don't believe I've ever seen you this out of sorts before."

Rufus looked up with a slightly agitated look, but softened as he took the glass. "Thanks. I suppose I owe you an apology."

Alton laughed. "What, for the knock to the face? No need. My assumptions about you were probably just as bad as your assumptions about me. We'll call it even and chalk it all up to a misunderstanding."

"Maybe we both have finally grown out of that childish rivalry our fathers forced on us." Rufus took the glass to his lips and drained the bourbon.

Alton chuckled and opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Reno with an update.

"Okay, so the taxi company is fake. I called around to other taxi companies and they said that the taxi that took her is actually a cover company vehicle for a local mob." The red headed Turk was doing more research on his phone. "This mob apparently does dirty work for some of the rich people up here on the Plate."

"A mob? Are you joking?" Rufus said in a deadpan voice.

Alton shook his head. "Well, not everyone has their own special Turk squad or an army of SOLDIERs at their beck and call; some of us need things done too."

Rufus had no good retort for that.

"We're _The_ Turks. We ain't a 'squad'. Anyway, someone hired these guys to take her, however, _who_ still remains a mystery. Our next move should be to find that taxi. Rufus, get with Mayor Domino at the city's office at HQ to see if we can get access to traffic cameras and scanners. Hopefully we can track their movement that way. I'll try to figure out a way to contact the mob directly. Maybe we can out-bid the person who's behind this." Reno internally savored this moment, giving his boss orders.

Rufus nodded and began dialing Domino's number. At last they were getting somewhere.

* * *

"Did they pay us?"

"Yup."

"So we're good to go?"

"Yup."

"Alright, heads or tails?"

"What? You're gonna flip a coin to see who does the job?"

"Nah, this coin toss is to see who gets her first. We'll flip for the job after playtime's over."

Tifa's stomach tightened.

"Tails."

The sound of a coin hitting the ground echoed around the room.

"Aw, too bad, man. Now scram, I don't like an audience."

"Asshole."

She heard footsteps walking away, and the clank of the metal door, and then footsteps approach her. "Please, just let me go…" She said, letting a little fear shake in her voice.

"Oh, we can't do that, especially after we just got paid and all." The man whispered harshly in her ear as she winced.

She tried to jerk away as he grabbed and pinched at her breasts from behind her. " _Don't_ touch me!" She yelped in pain when her wrist grazed a sharp point on the metal chair while she struggled. A flash of an idea caused her to begrudgingly ignore the current situation as she continued to struggle with her restraint against the sharp point, attempting to disregard the slicing pain when it hit the tender skin of her wrist. Blood dripped onto the floor silently. The zip tie popped open, but the noise was covered by the sound of the chair scraping the ground as he violently began to attempt lifting her blouse.

With her arms finally free, she clenched her fists a couple to times to return the blood flow and reached above her, grabbing her attacker under the shoulders.

"What the fu—"

Lunging forward, she flipped him over her shoulder tossed him onto his back on the floor; he was still gripping her shirt as he went over her head, the fabric made a ripping sound as it came to pieces. She threw off the bandana covering her eyes, but was blinded by light in the room after having spent so long in pitch blackness. Blearily, she saw the shape of his body lying on the ground, still stunned from the unexpected action and impact. What came next wasn't completely planned. She tumbled forward, metal folding chair still tied to her feet and awkwardly catapulted it over her and brought it down hard on the man's head and back with an ugly clang.

Unsure if he was completely knocked out, she frantically searched his pockets blindly for a pocket knife. She found one just as he started to rouse and quickly cut the binding on her feet. She scuttled backward on the ground, getting some space between the thug and herself, however her feet didn't want to cooperate yet. Pins and needles and the cold rush of blood plagued her from the ankle down. She kicked off the sandals she had on and looked around the room as her eyesight cleared. She was in a warehouse of some kind, boxes all around.

The man in front of her was just starting to get to his hands and knees. "You conniving little bitch. You're gonna pay for that." As her sight cleared, she assessed the situation and noted that he was thin, had dark hair and a goatee. She used a nearby crate to attempt to get up off the ground herself. Adrenaline began kicking in and she rushed at the thin man. He stood up just in time to receive a direct uppercut under the chin. He staggered backward.

She lunged forward again and delivered a powerful well-placed right roundhouse kick to his temple and he dropped like a sack of potatoes.

Taking a moment to catch her breath and decide her next move, Tifa looked around for her purse. Luckily, she spotted it sitting atop one of the crates. She didn't know when the other thug would show up, but she threw open the bag and frantically searched for her cell phone, but it was gone, as was all the cash that she had brought on her shopping trip. The blood drained from her face. Switching gears, Tifa searched for a way out. All of the windows in the warehouse were way too high up to climb out of. There were a few roll up doors for delivery trucks. She tried each of them, they were all locked tight. The only option was the door she had heard opening and closing when she was blindfolded.

She peeked through the small circular window to see if there was anyone waiting outside. Off in the distance, standing on a pier, was a dark shadow. " _Wait, a pier?_ _Where am I? In Junon?_ "

Tifa could see the cherry from a lit cigarette in the dark. She prayed he was far enough away for the creak of the old door to be drowned by the waves at the pier. He obviously hadn't heard the commotion from the scuffle.

She slowly cracked the door open, trying to avoid any noise, but to her panic, it creaked louder and made a gigantic popping rattle.

The figure turned around and spotted her escape attempt. "HEY. GET BACK HERE! SHIT!"

Tifa slung her purse strap over her head and took off running out the door and around the warehouse corner. Her heart was beating in her throat as she heard sprinting footsteps behind her. Her bare feet slapped the rough pavement, catching the odd rock or broken glass shard, but she didn't have time to stumble.

The corridor narrowed and had a sharp left turn, but to her horror led to a dead end with a ten foot tall chain link fence. Immediately she jumped up to begin the climb; she looked back to find that the other thug was right behind her now reaching for her. Her basest instinct took over and an ear shattering scream pierced the cold night air. She kicked at the man from her height on the fence, but he seemed to be built like a body builder and didn't yield to her blows.

"You're starting to be a lot more trouble than you're worth." He grabbed her by the waist and yanked her off the fence, throwing her roughly to the ground.

She landed hard on her side and skidded a few feet. She couldn't tell if there was a broken rib or not, but it sure felt like it.

"Ya know, we weren't supposed to mess up your face, but since we already got paid, I don't think it matters anymore. I don't know how you managed to escape, but you're not leaving this place alive." He grabbed her by what was left of her blouse and lifted her off the ground.

It wasn't until now that she fully realized how large this man was. He had to be a good foot taller than Barrett, and even wider. Her legs dangled unsteadily in the air. She grabbed his wrist with both hands and mustered as much core strength as she could to deliver a two footed kick to the chest.

He rocked backwards, wind jolted out of him, but he didn't relinquish his grip on her. Instead, he lifted her easily over his head and threw her again, slamming her against the exterior wall of the warehouse.

A sharp yelp of pain escaped her lips as she fell to the ground. Her vision started to tunnel, she could feel the pain of the jarring impact in her shoulders and ribcage as she tried to suck air back into her lungs. She fought the urge to pass out, and struggled to find the strength to lift her beaten body off the ground.

He was approaching her again to pick her up off the ground once more, but just as he reached out for her a deafening gunshot rang out through the alleyway. The hulking man stopped and touched his chest, where blood was beginning to seep through his shirt.

Tifa watched through dimming vision as he lurched forward and sank to his knees, landing face first on the pavement. She stumbled backward and hit the wall, sinking into a sitting position. She heard the jangling of the chain link fence and boots hit the ground behind the body of the thug, and then the sound of those boots running over to her.

"Tifa, are you okay? Stay with me, Tifa."

Warm hands gently grasped her shoulders and her head tilted back just far enough to see a familiar black turtle neck and an uncharacteristic concerned frown. "You … you found… me." She managed to whisper before losing consciousness completely.

Tifa's head dropped forward and landed on Rufus' chest. The breath caught in his chest. "I'm just sorry I didn't get here sooner." He gave her a quick once over to make sure there weren't any injuries that required immediate attention. "Reno, meet me in front of the pier warehouse, I found her."

"You got it, boss." The comms system crackled in Rufus' ear.

He took off his coat, wrapped it around her bare shoulders, and gently lifted her off the ground. She looked so fragile. If he hadn't had heard her scream, he might not have gotten to her in time.

He almost didn't.

He carried her back up the alley from the direction she had been running from. Just as he arrived, Reno parked the car in front of the warehouse. "Oh shit, is she okay?"

"Reno, just go check the warehouse for anyone else. They said there should be two, I took care of one of them in the alley."

"Right. On it." The Turk hopped out of the car and crept inside.

Rufus carefully placed Tifa's feet on the ground and braced her against his chest as he opened the car door. Cradling her head, he lowered her lightly onto the backseat.

Once she was safely secured, he stood guard until Reno appeared.

"There was one other guy in there, but she definitely took care of him. He's either gonna have brain damage or will be paralyzed from the neck down." Reno mentioned.

"Good. Let's get to the Junon HQ, we shouldn't travel back to Midgar with her in this condition." Rufus got into the car and looked back at Tifa who was still unconscious on the back seat. In the dim interior car light, he could see more of the injuries she had sustained. Her wrists were caked in dried blood, her bottom lip was split and swollen, her shirt was almost completely ripped off, and an excessive amount of bruising was beginning to form along various parts of her body.

The horizon in Junon was slowly starting to brighten, signaling the oncoming sunrise. They would have to hurry before people started showing up for work; if there was one thing they didn't need, it was questions.

Rufus was silent the whole way back to the HQ. Reno didn't push for conversation.

Once at the ShinRa HQ SOLDIER entrance, closest to the Junon Med Bay, Reno helped Rufus carefully pull Tifa from the car. Reno entered the door codes as Rufus carried her inside.

Two doctors spotted Rufus carrying a lifeless looking girl into their triage center and rushed a gurney over to him so he could let them get to work. "What happened to her, sir?" One of them asked as the other got to work hooking her up to various machines attached to the gurney and started to wheel her away.

Reno stepped in. "We'll answer questions later, just get to work on her. None of us have slept, and the Vice President needs to rest."

"I'm not going anywhere, I'm fine." Rufus said. "She was beaten and thrown around by a gorilla sized man. Is she going to be all right?"

"We can't say for sure at the moment. Let us take her back and check her out and we'll let you know soon. Please wait out here, sir." The doctor followed the rolling gurney into the double doors and Tifa was gone again.

* * *

A/N: An action packed chapter! Who called the mob out on Tifa? Will she be okay? WILL CLOUD FIND OUT?! Find out next time on the next chapter of Intoxication!


	19. The Road to Recovery

"Rufus, you need to go lay down. You haven't slept in 48 hours." Reno said gently before sipping his coffee, looking at the young Vice President as he sat in Tifa's hospital room with his head in his hands.

Rufus didn't answer. He just looked up at the bed with sleep deprived, slightly bloodshot eyes. They had managed to rescue Tifa, but they weren't out of the woods yet. The doctors were keeping her in observation for the time being, monitoring her for internal bleeding from the impact injuries she sustained.

Tifa was still asleep; the bruising and concussion had been bad. Luckily, the doctors hadn't found any severe injuries, and miraculously, she had no broken bones, but she was going to be extremely sore and in a lot of pain when she woke up. She had been severely dehydrated, which most likely had contributed to her weakness. To Rufus, her rhythmic breathing was comforting.

"Look, she's going to be fine."

"I know that Reno. The thing that is bothering me the most is that we still don't know who was behind all this. They didn't want money; they didn't want anything from me. They wanted her dead. Was that because of me?"

Reno sighed. "You're going to drive yourself insane with that line of thinking. You should focus more on finding out who did this instead of sitting here on your ass, doing nothing, worrying about it."

Rufus gave Reno an acidic glare. "Isn't that what I pay you for?" He replied coldly.

Reno rolled his eyes. "You know, I could be offended by that, but I know you don't mean it. Whatever, wallow in self-pity for all I care. After I get my _much needed rest,_ I'm gonna go do the actual work that will get the bad guy." The red headed Turk forced open the hospital room door and let it slam behind him.

The room was silent again. Rufus stood up and walked over to Tifa's bed. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep, but he couldn't figure out what had himself acting so unpredictably. There was so much going through his head, he didn't know what he was feeling. Anger mostly, and concern for Tifa's condition, but there were other unidentified considerations he just couldn't classify. He gently clasped her hand and crouched by the bed, closing his eyes for a moment in the silence of the room.

"I'm so sorry."

His eyes shot open as he poked his head up from the bed. For an instant he thought he was hearing things, because her eyes were still closed. "…What did you say?"

Her merlot colored eyes opened slowly and looked up at him. "I said I'm sorry." Her voice was raspy, barely there.

"What could you possibly be sorry for?" He asked, his eyes growing wide with relief.

"They took all the money you gave me the other day." She nibbled on her lower lip, but winced as she realized it was split and swollen.

Rufus' eyebrows knit together for a second as he processed what she said, and then started laughing at the inane worry she had. "You honestly thought I would be mad about that? Tifa, I don't give two shits about the cash I gave you. I'm just glad that you're alive. If anyone should be sorry, it should be me. Sorry we didn't find you sooner."

She laughed too; albeit gently as her ribs were still very much bruised. "Don't be. I'm just glad you found me at all. Those guys were professionals. _I_ didn't even know I was in Junon until I got out of the building. They tossed my phone, kept me blindfolded, and I was zip tied to a chair for who knows how long. They didn't talk much, and they were careful to keep any details from me."

Rufus always seemed to forget that she knew a lot about this sort of thing, especially since she'd been living like a regular socialite for the past couple of months. He had half expected her to be angry with him, upset that he didn't come get her sooner; he knew he was angry with himself for that reason. All he had to do was look at the bruising, abrasions and cuts on her arms and wrists alone, and it killed him to know how long she suffered before he got there.

He almost wished that she _was_ as angry with him as he was with himself. Her optimism was out of place in a situation like this. She didn't deserve to be as acquainted with this type of suffering as much as she was.

However, being the person she was, she read his face; merely patted his hand and shook her head with a smile. "Hey, don't beat yourself up. I'm actually really impressed. You managed to find me in Junon when I was taken in Midgar. How did you even do that?" Reno had been right again. She did understand, and didn't blame him.

"Someone hired some mob thugs to kidnap and kill you. Apparently, people in Midgar use this mob to do things I would normally have the Turks do. We traced the car you were taken in to this mob. Reno managed to find a way to contact the leader, and got some information out of him. He told us that an anonymous contact got in touch with him to do a job. When he found out who the target was, he said no, but offered it to any of his guys as an unsanctioned job that he would not provide resources for. The two idiots who took you jumped at the chance. Realizing we'd traced the Taxi back to him, the leader got pissed at his two lackeys and gave away their plan to go to Junon to get away from the heat. He didn't know exactly where they'd taken you though. Reno and I split up though Junon checking out abandoned warehouses." Rufus shook his head. "That was when I heard you scream."

Tifa blushed. "Oh my God, you heard that?"

"Yes, everyone for a five block radius probably could." He teased, realizing she was embarrassed.

She turned a deeper shade of red. "Shut up, no way. I wasn't scared. That giant of a guy just came out of nowhere, I had no idea he'd be able to run so fast. I would have kicked his ass too, if I hadn't been so weak already."

"Well, you put up a valiant fight. Reno told me you probably paralyzed the guy inside the warehouse, or at least gave him brain damage."

"Good, I kicked him with everything I had left." She said proudly. "He deserved more than that." She then mumbled as she shifted uncomfortably in the bed, wincing at the pain in her torso.

Rufus was quiet for a moment.

Tifa caught the clouds casting over his eyes and already knew exactly what he was thinking. "Don't even go there, I would have died fighting before I'd ever let them-"

He intertwined his fingers with hers. "Tifa, I swear to you, when I find out who did this, I am going to…" He stopped when her finger pressed against his lips to shush him.

Tifa's face broke into an understanding smile. She eased herself over on the bed and patted the space next to her. "Sit with me, please?"

She reminded him, for a moment, of someone, but he couldn't recall who. He carefully sat on the bed next to her, leaned back and wrapped his arm behind her head; she leaned into the crook of his arm. She was the one who was injured and yet it seemed like she was the one comforting him.

Truth be told, she already knew who was responsible. But she couldn't let him know; not yet. Not until she had proof and was certain. Right now, though, she just wanted to put it all behind her. She could tell that he had been noticeably affected by all this, which surprised her, since he was usually very good at hiding what was on his mind. She vaguely remembered the concerned frown, bordering on a fearful grimace that adorned his face right before she passed out, which was something she'd never seen his mouth do.

She was content for the moment and feeling safe now with Rufus' warmth beside her; she very carefully rolled over onto her side towards him and rested her head on his chest.

A smile snuck onto Rufus' face, and he kissed the top of her head before leaning his head back in the hospital bed. It wasn't long before the exhausted duo had fallen asleep.

* * *

"Rude, man, you picked a hellova couple of days to be on vacation. I'm taggin' out man. It's your turn to deal with our 'fearless leader'." Reno finished briefing his fellow Turk on the events of Tifa's kidnapping.

"Did she really paralyze the guy in the warehouse with her bare foot?" Rude asked tentatively.

"Yeah man, it was bad. I didn't touch him, but I wouldn't be surprised if she kicked him upside the head so hard that he was decapitated internally." Reno mimed a round house kick to emphasize.

"That sounds like an exaggeration." Rude adjusted his sunglasses.

Reno shook his head in disagreement. "Barely, buddy. Just barely."

"Remind me not to piss her off anytime soon." The bald Turk quipped.

"Amen brother. I aim to stay on her good side. Kitty's got mad claws. Anyway, I'm taking a day to recoup. Call me if you need anything," The tall lanky Turk started to walk away with a wave. Before he did, he stopped for a second and turned his head. "Oh hey, by the way, he's totally fallen for her. He was a basket case when he realized she was gone. I've never seen him act that way before. It was like all those years of hard ass training just flew out the window. Even now that we have her back, he's still broken up about the fact we don't know who put a hit out on her. She survived getting tossed around by the incredible hulk, _with no broken bones,_ and he's still treating her like she's a priceless glass vase. Once she gets better, it might be an interesting idea to get her in the ring with him so she can kick some sense into him. If anyone's gonna be able to show him she's not fragile, it's gonna be her."

Rude chuckled and patted Reno on the back. "Give him a break. It's the first time he's cared about something other than that cat of his."

"Oh yeah, for sure. Where is DN anyway? I haven't seen him in a while." Reno asked.

"Dr. Hojo took him back in for more Mako enhancement. They wanted to beef him up for security purposes, and he has to incubate for a while. Hard to believe that panther was created in that lab to begin with." Rude shook his head.

"Mad scientist – that dude's lab gives me the heebie jeebies every time I go in there. Anywho, I'm headed to my comfortable bed for some well-deserved shut eye. I'll see ya tomorrow bud." Reno walked out the door.

Rude chuckled and made his way to Tifa's med bay room. He knocked, but didn't get a response. Gently opening the door, he poked his head into the room to check on his boss. He was surprised to not see Rufus sitting in the room. He turned his head to see Rufus lying next to Tifa in her hospital bed, both of them asleep; Rude chuckled quietly.

A doctor tapped him on the shoulder. "Excuse me, I need to go check her vitals and administer her meds."

He stepped aside to let the doctor into the room and followed him in, watching intently as the man checked the machines' readouts.

"It seems like she's stabilized well," He mumbled as he peered over at the two sleeping, checking to make sure they hadn't disturbed any over her lines. "And there doesn't appear to be any internal bleeding. She's either very lucky or very strong; most likely both. It probably helped that she knew how to take a fall. With normal healing, she should be up and around in a couple of weeks, maybe a little longer since her ankle is sprained."

Rude crossed his arms. "What about with 'aided' healing?"

"Well, now that she's out of the woods, two days, tops. But I'm not permitted to administer that to anyone who is not a SOLDIER, Turk, or ShinRa official." The doc shrugged.

"You won't be giving her the SOLDIER dose, just enough to get her back on her feet. Vice President Rufus will sign the paperwork."

The doctor looked hesitantly over at Tifa, as if sizing her up. "But I don't have any medical history for this girl, what if she reacts negatively? I don't want to get fired for that."

Rude looked over at Tfa as well and pushed his sunglasses up his nose. "Seeing what she's capable of first-hand, I don't think we'll have anything to worry about. Just do it."

Shaking his head, the doctor exhaled. "All right, but I'd better get that signed paperwork." He walked out of the room to go retrieve the treatment.

The bald headed Turk placed a hand on Rufus' shoulder and shook gently. "Sir."

The vice president's eyes shot open as his hand flew out to physically pushed Rude back. When he realized who was speaking to him, he whispered, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, sir. I just need to make sure you get to your room. They've just cleared Ms. Tifa for any critical injuries, and they're just about to administer some pain killers so she can sleep soundly. You need to let her do that so she can heal." Rude was slightly surprised; it seemed that Reno had not been exaggerating Rufus' irrational state. He felt bad for lying about what was about to be administered, but if he knew, Rufus would not allow it to happen, nor would he leave to sleep in his own bed, especially in the state he was currently in.

After a few moments of debate, Rufus decided to take Rude's advice. "All right." He gently lifted Tifa's head off of his chest and onto the pillow before carefully leaving the bed so as not to wake her. He lightly kissed her forehead before following Rude from the room. He gave her one last look before leaving with his bodyguard, as if he were afraid she'd disappear again. Content that she was safe inside ShinRa's secure walls, he closed the door quietly.

Minutes later, the doctor returned to Tifa's bedside with a tray and set it down near her IV bag. He carefully righted her position in bed so that she was lying on her back. He administered a sedative in her IV line to begin, and waited a moment before continuing. On the tray, he grabbed a pair of padded wrist restraints and ankle restraints and went to work securing the girl to the bed. Sighing, he placed a pair of ear plugs into his ears and picked up the serum he was about to place in her IV line. He carefully removed any air bubbles from the syringe and inserted it into the line. Once the dose had been administered, he readied his defibrillator in preparation for possible cardiac arrest and cautiously watched the monitors for her vitals.

What he failed to notice was that Tifa's eyes had fluttered open. She attempted to raise her arm to rub her face, only to find that it was tightly restrained to the bedrail. Fear prickled her skin as she looked around to find that Rufus was gone, and the only one in the room was a doctor who was staring the machines hooked up to her. Sudden drowsiness hit her, but she could feel a cold creeping feeling entering her veins. Her heart started racing as she realized she had no idea what was going on. She opened her mouth to yell at the doctor, but her dry rasping whisper was not enough to penetrate the ear plugs.

All at once, the serum hit her hard. All of the muscles in her body seized, and her back arched off the bed as she let out a primal scream. It felt as though every fiber, every cell in her body was on fire. Her arms and legs pulled hard against the restraints. Her heart pounded as if it would burst through her chest, and her diaphragm wouldn't let her lungs draw air in. Her eyes were clenched shut, but bursts of light invaded her vision anyway. Sweat poured from her brow.

Then, quickly as it all started, her body released itself and she fell back onto the bed with a thud, unconscious.

The doctor turned his head toward her quickly and removed his ear plugs. Her vitals returned to normal. His mouth dropped open. The serum had only had its violent side effects for less than a minute. Her vitals hadn't even reached dangerous levels. The only people who had this short of a reaction were Turk level guards. He stared at her. She looked like any normal girl.

He wrote down his notes and undid the restraints, covered her legs with a blanket, and rolled the tray towards the door as he looked back at her once more in disbelief. Professor Hojo would have to hear about this.

* * *

I'mma leave this here for now. Poor Tifa just can't catch a break. Please leave a review! I love to hear what you think, positive or negative, about the story itself, or my writing style, I like to hear it all! Thanks, y'all! More to come! Peace out!


	20. The Release of Tension

Rufus woke up early the next morning, literally jumped out of bed and threw his clothes on. He didn't even take the time to comb his hair. He just ran his fingers through it a few times before heading out the door.

Rude was heading toward his boss' room as Rufus briskly walked by, so he just did an about-face and followed behind. "Good morning, sir."

Rufus was silent, and stayed quiet until he reached Tifa's room at the medbay.

He gently knocked on the door, and when he received no answer, he opened it quietly and stepped inside, signaling to Rude to stay in the hall.

When he turned to face the bed, his heart dropped into his stomach.

She wasn't there.

He walked over to the bed and placed his hand on the mattress. It was barely warm, as though she'd been there within the last 15 minutes.

A click of a door handle caused him to spin on his heel.

Tifa walked out of the bathroom, looked up and smiled at him. She giggled. "What's the matter, you look like you've seen a ghost."

Rufus' mouth fell open. Tifa walked over to him without so much as a limp and wrapped her arms around him.

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." She whispered.

"How… how are you feeling? I mean, you're up and walking around. How…?" He trailed off.

"I feel great considering everything that happened yesterday. In fact, nothing really hurts much anymore. I still feel a little pain in my ribs, and my ankle is a little sore, but when I woke up, I felt brand new." She lifted her chin to rest it on his chest and looked up at him with her merlot eyes. Eyes that now had a hint more of a sparkle to them than before.

Immediately, Rufus assumed the reason and kissed her forehead. "Hey, I'm glad you're feeling better. Go ahead and lay back down, you shouldn't try to do too much before you're ready. I'll be right back; I'll bring you a coffee."

"Ok, thanks." She smiled at him again, and sat down on the bed to watch him leave the room; though she did notice he was acting strange.

Rufus went out into the hall and made sure the door was shut behind him and gave Rude an angry glare that would have given most people a shiver down their spine. "You ordered a Mako injection without my expressed permission?! Do you realize how much pain she could have been in when that was administered; especially on top of all of the pain she was already in? Did you consider the fact that she might have had a negative reaction and _died?!_ "

Rude waited until Rufus was finished. "Sir, with all due respect, I understand how your feelings for Ms. Tifa are growing. But you don't seem to realize how strong she is. With her strength, and her personality taken into account, I knew it wouldn't have a negative reaction, plus she was given a sedative beforehand; she's strong enough to be a low level Turk, even without the Mako. She needed to be healed quickly. We didn't give her a full dose; we just gave her enough to get her restored. The long term effects will fade over time. It wouldn't do for anyone to find out that she was injured or kidnapped, and having her up and around as quickly as this will ensure that there are no negative repercussions from the events of the kidnapping. Sir, you should realize that you are not the only one vested in this. We are now all part of this plan. I was thinking of her safety, wellbeing and the plan here."

Rufus was fuming. "You should have consulted me."

"You wouldn't have allowed it at all." Rude quietly ventured. "In the state you were in, and honestly still are, you would have forbid even the mention of it. I took matters in my own hands because it would have been exactly what you would have ordered if it were you, me, Reno, or anyone else. Look, she's up, she's feeling better, and she's as good as new, and now we don't have to worry about dancing around the issues we just took care of. Rufus, if you didn't think she would be able to handle any of the events that have happened so far, why in the world would you have agreed to let her do this?"

Rufus' fists balled up tightly. Why was everyone so concerned about telling him how tough she was? He shoved his finger in Rude's chest. "If you ever make an executive decision like that again without consulting me, I will have your head, Rude." He turned on his heel to go get the cup of coffee that he'd promised Tifa.

Rude sighed and shook his head. He knocked on Tifa's door. A cheerful sounding "Come in!" rang out, and he entered quietly, carrying a duffel bag with him.

Tifa smiled as she stretched her muscles out by the bed. "Oh, hey Rude! You've missed quite the party."

Rude looked down and chuckled at her over the top disposition. "I wish I could have been of assistance, Miss."

"Oh, please, call me Tifa. 'Miss' just sounds so stuffy." She said cheerfully, continuing to stretch.

"Of course – I take it that you're feeling better?" He asked as he sat in the guest chair.

"I feel great! Almost like nothing happened to me yesterday. I had a really weird dream last night, but other than that, I feel like a million bucks!"

"Well, it may not have been a dream last night. You were given a Mako treatment to make sure you healed up quick. Though I'm surprised you're standing so soon, even after the treatment. It seems that you heal more quickly than most." He said as he folded his hands in his lap.

Tifa shrugged. "I guess. Whatever that doctor guy gave me is a miracle drug. It sucked getting it though; it felt like he'd doused me in gasoline and struck a match."

Rude paled. "You were awake when you got the injection?"

She nodded at Rude. "Yeah, just for a couple minutes or so, felt like I was gonna burn to ash; but I'm fine now. It was more frightening than it hurt anyway." Tifa resumed stretching her back with her arms above her head, seemingly unfazed by the procedure the night before.

Rufus entered the room and stopped dead in his tracks as he watched Tifa moving about, extending her arms and legs without any hindrance at all. "I thought I told you that you should take it slow, Tifa." He gave her another rare concerned frown.

"I'm fine, Rufus. You worry too much." She grinned at him as she walked across the room to grab her coffee. "Thank you by the way." She stood up on her tip toes to kiss him on the cheek.

Slightly stunned at the levity of her mood and the liveliness in her step, he looked at Rude who only shrugged back at him.

"Okay, what the heck is up with you two? You keep looking at me like I've sprouted horns or something." She eyed them both as she sipped her coffee.

Rufus didn't know what to say. He was furious about the Mako injection being performed without his or Tifa's consent. But he didn't know how to bridge that conversation.

Rude noticed Rufus' hesitation. "We're both just impressed by your healing capabilities on Mako."

"So not only does Mako conduct and produce electricity, it can be used to heal people too? Interesting!" Tifa said as she jumped up to sit on the bed.

"Well, with as many different Materia that is created from Mako, there are many different uses for Mako itself if extracted correctly. The only reason it isn't used more often is because you have to have a strong individual who can bear the reaction process. You were a very good candidate for the treatment." Rude continued explaining, despite the fact he was normally very quiet around Tifa.

"Oh, so that's what that burning feeling was. Well, I'm glad you made that call, because I would have been miserable lying in bed all day, taking pain killers, and not being able to do _anything_ for so long. The burning feeling was kinda like ripping off a band aid instead of peeling it off slow. But like I said, I feel _amazing_." She said with a grin.

Rude smiled. "That's a perk side effect; you'll probably feel a little euphoric for a while." He looked over at Rufus, who seemed a little clouded over.

Rufus cleared his throat with a strange look on his face. "I'll be back in a bit." He left the room suddenly.

Tifa looked at Rude with some concern. "… Is he okay?"

Rude chuckled. "He's fine. He's just working through some things. Your kidnapping was hard on him, and he has to deal with some emotions that are new to him. In the meantime, you've been cleared for release. I've brought some clothing for you to change into here in this bag." He said as he stood up and gestured toward the duffel on the floor.

"Thank you Rude." She said quietly, in thought.

After Rude left, Tifa picked up the duffel and brought it to the bed. Her thoughts wandered to what Rude had just said. She hoped Rufus was alright, though she had an idea of what the issue was.

She changed clothes and decided to go talk to him. After leaving the room, she discovered a pair of glass doors leading to an open balcony. The morning sun was rising, and she could see a silhouette of a man in a trench coat, leaning on the balcony looking out over the ocean. Tifa smiled; she wished she could take a picture and frame it.

She tapped him on the shoulder. "Can I join you?" she asked with a smile.

He looked at her and nodded with a bit of uncertainty. He watched as she copied his stance of leaning on the railing, and watched her smile as she gazed at the colors of the sunrise that melted with the sea. He opened his mouth to say something, but she spoke before he could get out whatever he thought he was going to say.

"Listen, nothing that has happened over the past few days is your fault. _Nothing._ I knew there would be danger going into this gig, and I was prepared for that. That wasn't even the first time I've been kidnapped." She chuckled, hoping to get a laugh out of him, but he only smiled insincerely out at the horizon. She continued, "I appreciate all the fear you hold for my safety; but please, don't let it consume you. Don't be sorry for what happened and don't beat yourself up. If we're gonna keep this up, I need to know that you trust me to handle the danger. In the past, I'd already gone so long expecting or waiting for someone to rescue me; so I learned to rescue myself." She grabbed his hand. "I'm glad you came looking for me, and I'm glad you were there when I needed you most. But remember, I did handle everything up until then. If you let that worry eat at you, you won't be able to function; and Rufus, we both need to be functioning at our full capacity. Look at me, please?" She pulled his chin in her direction.

His eyes finally found hers and released a big sigh. "I trust you, Tifa. I've just never felt so … worried before. I really thought I was going to lose you. And then when I found out about the Mako treatment, I was just so pissed off…"

"Wait, you weren't the one who ordered it?" She asked quizzically.

"No, absolutely not; I wanted to spare you from the god-awful reaction." There was that concerned frown again.

"Well, if I had to choose a couple minutes of intense pain over a couple of weeks of slow constant pain, and boredom; honestly, I would still choose the couple minutes of intense pain." She replied.

He blinked. "There was no guarantee it would only be a 'couple' minutes. It could have gone on much longer, Tifa."

She shrugged. "It's still better than the other option in my mind. It didn't feel like I was dying, it was just pain." She wondered why he thought that was so strange.

He stared at her for a moment, and realized he wasn't going to win that argument with her. Perhaps Rude was right, the healing dose may have not have been as severe as getting an enhancement dose. "I just don't want to see you in pain at all."

She smiled knowingly. "That's very kind of you. But pain doesn't bother me. Pain is a reminder that you're alive, and you have to fight to keep that life."

Her words reminded him of those of an old sage. He shook his head. "There are some things I don't understand about you. But you're definitely the strongest willed person I know. I just wish you didn't have to be."

She chuckled at his words. "So basically you're calling me strange and hard headed. Okay, I'll take that." She replied as she poked him in the chest.

He finally gave her a real smile and pulled her close by the waist, running his fingers through her long dark hair. "God, I missed you." He whispered as he leaned down to kiss those smirking lips.

She leaned into the kiss, and her arms circled him inside his coat; the warmth from his chest chased away the chill from the morning air. She broke away for a second and smiled up at him to say, "I missed you too." She kissed his lips, the tip of his nose and reached up on her tip toes to kiss his forehead.

He sighed, letting go of the previous stress he had pent up. "Let's go get you something real to eat. I'm betting those mob lackeys didn't think to feed their hostage."

"YES, I'm starved!" She grinned at him, internally thankful he'd broken out that haze he'd been in and was finally able to smile.

* * *

Cloud smiled as Aerith buzzed from merchant to merchant, checking out the stalls along the market in Wutai.

"Cloud! Look at this one!" she proclaimed happily as she held up another treasure.

He chuckled at her enthusiasm. She'd been doing well at learning self-defense and fighting, though it was hard not to go too easy on her. He'd noted to himself that she was fairly adept at casting magic already, and that was where he had to watch out, lest he end up with his hair on fire for the sole reason being that she thought it was hilarious.

Today they decided to take a leisurely stroll through the town to take a rest. He had decided that she'd been right; he did need a vacation to take his mind off of everything currently going on with Tifa, especially since she wasn't giving him regular updates anymore, which had been causing his mind to worry that everything was going wrong all the time.

In fact, he hadn't actually checked his phone in at least a week. Anytime he'd try to look at it before, Aerith would scold him for worrying too much, so now he only looked at it when it actually rang.

His mind wasn't wandering nearly as often anymore and he felt so much more relaxed while he spent time with Aerith. She was keeping him sane, and he had no idea how to thank her for that.

As she walked back over to him after making a purchase from one of the street vendors, she packed her newly found treasures into her satchel. "There's so much cool stuff around here!" She exclaimed, beaming.

Her smile was contagious; he couldn't help but reflect it himself with a chuckle. "Yeah, you bought out the place. Wutai's economy is going to skyrocket because of you." He teased her.

"Oh be quiet, it's just a few trinkets." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Say, Aerith, why don't we find a nice restaurant here in town tonight? I need a break from our campfire cookouts." He said as they started wandering down the road.

"I'm really not sure if I'm supposed to take to mean that you hate my cooking or you want to take me on a date." She said with a playful grin.

"Uh, can it be both?" he replied mischievously.

"UGH, you're so mean, and darn it, so sweet. Of course we can." She kissed him on the cheek and grabbed his hand as they began to explore the town.

They were just about to walk into Turtle Paradise when suddenly, for the first time in weeks, Cloud's phone rang. He looked at Aerith.

"What are you staring at me for? Answer your phone silly! I'll go get us a table." She let go of his hand with a reassuring smile and walked into the building, leaving him there alone.

He looked at his phone, surprised to see Tifa's number displayed. "Long time no talk, stranger." He said, perhaps a little colder than he was meaning to.

Her voice radiated from the earpiece. "Phone works both ways, you know." She replied with a chuckle that told him she didn't detect his earlier tone. "Sorry, it's been crazy the past few days. Are you busy? I can give you an update if you want."

"Yeah, of course Tifa; it's good to hear your voice." He really wasn't sure what to say, but he did want to know what had been going on.

"Well, for the most part it's been going very well, but the past couple of days there was a bit of a hiccup." She replied before relaying the story.

"…A hiccup?" He repeated her.

By the time she finished the account of the kidnapping, he had to hold his breath for a moment to gain his composure. "Jesus, Tifa, I'm so glad you're ok… but why's this the first time I'm hearing about this? Why didn't Rufus call me when he realized you were missing?"

"You wouldn't have been able to help. Rufus and Reno were both busy exhausting every resource to find me. Plus, I pretty much escaped out of there on my own. Had I not been starved and dehydrated, I wouldn't have needed help at all."

"Honestly, that's really not the point Tif." He said as he rubbed his eyes with his forefinger and thumb.

"I got thrown around a bit, nothing broken, just really bruised and scraped up, and a sprained ankle. But at the med center they took me to, they gave me this stuff that healed me right up, I'm back on my feet already." She said cheerfully.

Cloud blanched and his eyes popped open. "Wait, wait, you let that ShinRa bastard give you a Mako treatment?!" He was on the verge of yelling.

Tifa bit her tongue before choosing her next words carefully. "Well it wasn't Rufus who gave it to me… In fact, he was just about as upset as you are right now when he found out."

"Well, yes Tifa, because people who are given that shot can possibly _die_ from the reaction _."_ He was so close to yelling, people were starting to look at him on the street.

Finally she lost it. "So I keep hearing. But I didn't. I'm still here. Calm down. Look, I didn't call you just so you could lecture me on the dangers of what I'm doing. I called you to update you, because that's what you wanted, and I want you to know how things are going. If you don't want updates anymore, I won't call anymore. I wouldn't want to upset you – anyway, if you want to call me when you have a cooler head, that's fine. Until then, talk to you later." She hung up abruptly.

He looked at his phone and sighed, fighting the urge to throw it. He plopped down on the curb of the street next to the pub. Cloud wasn't really sure why he was so angry, or why he took it out on Tifa. He was going to need a minute to recoup if he wanted to have a nice dinner with Aerith without her worrying.

* * *

Tifa looked at her brand new phone and fought the urge to throw it. Instead, she slammed it down on the counter and walked into the guest bedroom of Rufus' flat in Junon. She angrily sat down on the bed and sighed. She was getting very tired of people underestimating her.

"You know, I can't believe I'm saying this, but you shouldn't be so hard on him."

Rufus' voice made her jump. She looked up from her clenched fists to see him leaning against the door frame. "I've gone on for so long helping him believe in all the things he could do. And now it just seems that he doesn't want to return the favor."

Rufus shook his head. "Not to sound like a chauvinist, but most men are raised to believe they are the protectors of women. I'm learning the hard way that it isn't that way with you. Sometimes it's really hard not to confuse your optimism as overcompensation."

Tifa flushed. "Okay, that's fair, but I'm never going to tell you I can handle something if I outright know that I can't."

Rufus thought back on all the things they'd been through and realized; that was true. He could tell when she was nervous, and when she had all the confidence in the world. "I can't even begin to know what you've been through that you're confident in a kidnapping situation and fight to the near death. Just know that even if I have the knowledge that you're capable of handling it, I'm… I'm still going to worry about you."

"You're so much better at words than Cloud." She laughed and fell back on the bed.

"Uh, thanks?" He raised an eyebrow with a smirk while he watched her giggle.

"Ok." She sat back up. "Me and you, sparring match."

"…Right now? Isn't your ankle still healing?" He had frozen at the sudden request.

"It doesn't hurt. I think I'm all good. I'll wrap it beforehand. So yes, right now; put on some work out gear. I'm gonna show you what I can do. Plus, I need to release a little pent up energy." She said before walking over to her duffel to grab some loose clothing. When she stood back up, Rufus still seemed to be frozen at the door. "Yes, Rufus, I'm serious."

"Okay, okay." He walked back to his room to change clothes, unsure of how this was going to go.

Once he'd changed into a hoodie and work out pants, he met Tifa out in the living area where she was pulling her hair up into a high ponytail.

"I'm assuming since this place has most of the amenities of the HQ in Midgar, there's most likely a gym here too, right?" She asked, completing the ponytail by circling it into a bun atop the crown of her head. She had decided on a sports bra and yoga pants, mainly because Rude hadn't really brought anything more suited for such a thing.

He nodded. "Of course; follow me." He led her to the onsite employee gym, and into the private boxing ring in a back room. He turned on the lights and turned to find Tifa stretching. He chuckled. "You really are serious about this."

She grinned at him over her shoulder. "Oh come on. I promise; I won't hurt you too bad."

He took on a faux look of shock. "Is that so? Well I suppose I feel much more at ease now." As he chuckled, he couldn't help but notice that when she stretched, the muscle tone of her bare torso and back was clearly visible, and also completely rid of all bruising or prior injury.

She climbed into the ring and bounced back and forth from one foot to the other and began to shadowbox. He noticed she'd already taped her knuckles expertly. Rufus realized she was quickly transforming from the debutante in the beautiful dress to a boxer right before his eyes.

With a little more than a bit of apprehension, he followed her lead and jumped into the ring, pulling off his hoodie and tossing it on the ropes.

She turned to face him as she stretched her neck and shoulders in circles. "You ready?"

"As I can be in this situation." He replied, getting down into a defensive stance.

She smirked. "Nice form. I'm going to enjoy this." She entered her own stance.

Time stood still for a moment as they eyed each other, studying to determine who would make the first move.

When she realized that he wasn't, she rolled her eyes and rushed forward.

Before Rufus had realized it, Tifa was to the left of him, about to land a right handed punch to the chest. He quickly maneuvered his elbow to block upward, surprised at the speed behind the attack.

She dropped to the mat and proceeded into a sweep kick directed at his legs, which he deftly avoided by jumping cleanly over.

Before his feet touched the ground however, she'd used her momentum to complete a 360 degree turn to land a double footed kick to his chest.

Rufus staggered back a couple of steps as the air returned to his lungs. "Shit." He managed to spit out, before looking up to see her racing at him again, this time aiming a high round house at him. He caught her calf and tossed it back, glaring back at her.

She smirked at him. "Are you finally going to take this seriously?"

He didn't answer her. He still wasn't really wasn't sure what she wanted from him.

Obviously unsatisfied with his silence, she went on the offensive again, aiming a couple of swift punches for his gut.

He blocked easily this time, grabbed her by the shoulders and rolled backwards; flinging her over the top of him with his foot.

Slightly surprised, but not unprepared for the move, Tifa arched her back and bent her knees to land on her feet before using them to spring back over to land in a straddling position on top of Rufus. She shook her head, poked his bare pectorals and with a slight tinge of anger in her voice said, "Are all these pretty muscles just for show? We're sparring, remember?"

He looked back up at her for a moment, utterly confused. He didn't want to hit her, and she was right, the move he'd just pulled was an attempt to do the least amount of damage.

She jumped off of him and let him stand up.

He half-heartedly aimed an open palmed blow to her chest, which she easily blocked, and countered with an angry full force blow to his midsection.

The force behind that punch shocked Rufus much more than the earlier kick to the chest. He fell to one knee with a breathless groan, grasping at his stomach.

"Dammit Rufus, stop trying to _not_ hit me. How am I supposed to gauge you if you don't give me all you got?" There was a fire in her red wine eyes that wasn't there before.

He realized in that moment that she was indeed serious, and that this was something that she thrived on: the thrill of encountering new opponents, and figuring them out. He hadn't noticed before, but she had been excited at the chance to get in the ring with him. This was her element. Not the dance floor at a fancy party. This was what got her through everything in her life up till this point.

Resigned to grant her wish, he stood up yet again and took a deep lungful of air to regain his normal breathing.

Impatiently, she lunged at him with a flurry of punches, but this time he blocked each one and countered with his own blow that glanced off her shoulder as she attempted to dodge. Using that momentum, she reared back with another roundhouse kick, but he caught her at the shin again. This time, he shoved her leg up in the air toward her in hopes to break the footing on her other leg to force her to the ground, but she was surprisingly much more flexible than he anticipated. She grinned mischievously as she used her body weight to break his grip on her, and attempted to draw her leg back.

Before she could however, he used his other arm to sweep the planted leg up and off the ground. There was a loud thud as she hit the canvas, but before Rufus could say a word, she looked up at him with a cheerful grin. "Oh, good move." She rolled backwards and was back on her feet in seconds. Sweat was starting too glisten at her temples.

This time he led the offensive, but she easily dodged the punches he threw. She was extremely agile; he had to give her that. She managed to duck a punch and ended up behind him, but he quickly whirled around with a reverse round house kick.

Ducking barely quick enough, the kick knocked the bun holding her hair up. A shower of dark brown hair spilled over her shoulders. She countered with an aimed knuckle to his chest again, but he caught her fist and locked it in his grip. She yanked hard, but he didn't yield. She aimed the other fist at his ribs, but he caught that one too. He flashed a smirk down at her. She struggled for a second before jumping up, using his resistant arms as leverage, and placed both feet on his chest to launch herself over and away from him, breaking the grip.

Out of surprise and being unprepared to balance from that angle, he staggered back a step. She flashed a return grin at him.

Both of them were starting to get out of breath, their skin flushed. She leapt forward and swung another roundhouse at him, this time aiming lower than he expected, connecting with his upper shoulder. He went down to his opposite knee and attempted to sweep kick her legs out from under her. She nimbly jumped over the kick and pushed his shoulder back with her foot. He fell onto his back and she quickly straddled him, grabbing his wrists and pinning them above his head.

He didn't fight back.

He looked up into her fiery eyes. He could feel her pulse in her grip; her heart was beating wildly from the fight, her chest heaving. Her hair fell all around them as she stared down at him with a different kind of smile on her face. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his neck, tracing hot kisses up to his jaw.

His pulse quickened as her soft lips traced the outline of his ear, and he shuddered when he felt her tongue draw his earlobe into her mouth to gently nibble. "Jesus, Tifa, it's not enough that you beat me, now you have to torture me too?"

She whispered back in his ear. "You let me win, but I'll let it slide this time."

* * *

A/N: WOO long chapter this time! A nice long read with a nice tingly ending. Depending on the reviews I get for this chapter, I can go one of two ways in the next. This is a mature fic, after all. Let me know your thoughts! Juicy lemon scene or story continuation? What do the readers what?


	21. Another Release of Tension

A/N: HALT! Beware all ye who enter here to this chapter. You should know that this particular chapter includes a very graphic love scene and if that offends you, please proceed to the next chapter. (If there isn't one yet, please be patient, it will be there soon, I promise.) Know that this scene is not crucial to story progression, and if you're not into it, I'm not keen on forcing people to read something that offends while also including crucial plot. With that said, everyone else, please enjoy this passionate love making session.

Her lips grazed from his ear, across his cheek to find his lips. Her hands released his pinned wrists as she slid them gently down his arms to grasp his face. Her tongue parted his lips to meet his as she ran her fingers through his silky blonde hair.

Finally free from her grip, his hands grabbed her hips to pull her closer to him. Her skin felt hot against his.

She gently nibbled on his lower lip; then sat upright to take in the sight of him.

His blue eyes caught the dim light beautifully, she thought. He lay there, motionless, staring at her dubiously with those beautiful eyes, almost unprepared for her sudden outspoken desire. It was an emotion she'd never seen cross his face. She ran her fingers over the curve of the muscles in his chest and shoulders, staring back into those eyes with a mischievous, almost hungry grin on her lips. She pulled him up gently by his shoulders into a sitting position so she was now sitting facing him on his lap.

His arms clutched her close to him as he brushed his lips over her neck, taking nibbles of the soft flesh at the crook of her shoulder, tracing a path of hot kisses along her collarbones.

As soft gasp escaped her lips as she felt sweet heat rising in her belly. The torturing ache spread outward and produced a layer of goosebumps across her skin.

Rufus' tongue followed the column of her throat, taking in the salty sweet taste of her skin, his fingers heavily mapping the curve of her waist to dig into the swell of her backside. In his lust-drunk stupor, he soon realized there was only a blessed few articles of clothing to remove between them.

Apparently a couple steps ahead of him on that venture, Tifa smirked playfully and raised both of her arms, demanding an immediate gesture from him. At the moment, she was feeling more alive than she had in many, many months, and her confidence in was soaring.

Dumbstruck for an instant, Rufus looked up at her face inquisitively, almost as if searching for a second-guess from her, but the heat amid their approximate laps was palpable. Not wasting another moment, or risking that possible second-guess, he peeled the offending article from her torso.

The cool air from the room hit Tifa's newly unconfined damp skin, but Rufus was quick to address that, after of course, admiring his view, though new concerns sprang to his mind after seeing a long dark scar grace the space between her bosom. He wondered briefly as to how she came into possession of such an injury, but decided this was a question for a later time. His arms cradled her back, encircling her as he shifted their weight forward together to place Tifa backward against the canvas and repositioned himself. He took the peak of one breast between his lips and flicked his tongue across it softly to gauge her reaction.

When a gasp of pleasure escaped her mouth, he continued his tongue's onslaught, adding a gentle nibble into the mix, followed by tender suckling. With a damp 'pop', her nipple came free from his lips, hard and pleading for more. He searched her face for a reaction; her eyes were looking at him with a half-lidded stare, a husky moan escaping her throat as she grasped his hair tightly. Worried that this might be too soon after the week's events, he had to stop himself from asking her, "Are you sure this is what you want?" He knew he'd only be greeted with an exasperated sigh and a probable termination of the moment. She'd given him enough lecturing that she was not a fragile porcelain doll. He trusted that she would indeed tell him if he went too far.

Whether he could stop himself now was an entirely different game. He decided to give attention to the other breast with his mouth as he slid his hand deftly over the former, using his fingers to please as well.

The soft noises she emitted urged him on as her nails dragged down his neck, digging into his back letting him know he was on the right track.

Her hips slightly bucked up against his pelvis, her hand snuck its way under the waistband of his sweats as he continued his attentions, and his breath hitched in surprise against her skin as her fingers hungrily grasped his already rigid manhood. A growl escaped the back of his throat against her chest.

There was no doubt to what she wanted, now. Impatient hands flew to the waistband of her yoga pants and panties as she giggled. He yanked until they came free of her legs and he leaned back on his knees to revel in the sight. Every inch of her was perfect. Her toned yet feminine musculature was exquisite; the swell of her hips, backside and fit, thick thighs in contrast to her trim waist and flat stomach was heavenly. He'd never met another woman with her figure. She obviously worked hard on her perfecting her kick boxing, the resulting body it had given her was a stunning gift. The smirk on his lips portrayed his immense approval.

Those lips found their way back to hers shortly and she grinned into the kiss before his fingers gently delved into the honeyed alcove between her legs. Her mouth opened tentatively against his to give him a breathy moan of appreciation and her hips began to buck again. Her back arched off the canvas and she loosely wrapped her long legs around his waist. He continued until she'd all but squealed his name.

Waves of pleasure rocked though her, branching out from her stomach. Breathlessly trembling in her euphoria, Tifa wasted no time in dragging his pants down to his thighs and gripping his well-muscled buttocks in show of her own approval.

Unable to bear the ache below any longer, Rufus sat back up and gripped the junctions of her hips to pull her ever closer. As he proceeded to press forward, her arms reached for his own hips. He made the first thrust tentatively; she shuddered with a delightful moan. As he made the second, her encircled legs tightened around his waist and her hands drew his face to her own. Her forehead pressed to his as she stared into his eyes, her hips thrusting to meet his. Their breathing gave way to pleasured gasps and moans. He supported his weight on his elbows and stroked her hair behind an ear as he looked at her tenderly. Little by little, the pleasure built until it was staggering. When he could finally restrain himself no more, he gave a final lunge in a burst of ecstasy; his body quaked and gave way on top of hers.

His forehead met the canvas against her cheek, his lips nuzzled up against her neck, continuing to kiss her skin, his bare chest heaving against her own.

She kissed the top of his head and studied him, his eyes were closed, brows furrowed as he breathed, in yet another expression she'd never seen his face make. She smiled to herself against his forehead, reveling in the notion that she was the reason for that satisfied expression.

Both of them breathed raggedly as her hands gently caressed his back in a soothing manner.

A cloud of euphoria dominated his brain as he rolled off to her side onto his back and turned his head to look at her.

She breathlessly looked back at him with those sparkling merlot eyes and winked. The minx.

He chuckled and pulled his sweat pants back up to his waist before turning toward her on his side and propping his head up on his hand, pulling her close to him with the other.

"I suppose they don't teach that particular art in kick boxing." He said quietly, sweeping a tendril of her hair from her face behind her ear.

She chuckled. "Obviously not. But I suppose it isn't a branch of training for ShinRa employees either?"

He shook his head with a grin. "Not at all." He gave her one last sweeping glance before noting the time on his watch. "Better get dressed. We should be long gone before the night shift SOLDIERs begin their workouts."

She sulked for a moment before reaching for her yoga pants.

"If you feel so inclined, you may find the bed in the master bedroom at my place to be much more comfortable than the guest bed." He said with a smirk, looking for her reaction.

"As if I could refuse such a generous offer." She said as she adjusted her sport bra, reaching in to kiss his nose.

There was a feeling of excitement and mischief as they snuck out of the gym in their socks; right on schedule as they ducked behind a column, a group of Junon soldiers in ShinRa workout gear started to file toward the room that Rufus and Tifa had just left. It took all they had to keep from laughing like giddy teenagers, loud enough for the soldiers to hear.

Back at his flat, they showered away their previous sparring match, dried off and climbed into his bed. Rufus relished the way her backside fit against his hips while nestled up against him, his arm wrapped over her waist.

She giggled as she draped her arm over his and grasped his hand. "You weren't wrong, I do find this much more comfortable than the guest room."

Rufus hid the most honest smile he'd ever let grace across his face into her hair. Never more content as he was now, he kissed her shoulder as they both lazily faded off to sleep.

A/N: WHEW I'm back! Apologies for the lateness, life/work/feelings get in the way sometimes… oh and and hurricanes and all that. Anywhoo I'm posting this and starting the next chapter right now, hopefully I'll have something more for you posted up pretty soon. I sincerely hope you enjoy this chapter, you pervy reader, and as a pervy writer, I thoroughly enjoyed writing it. *wink* Was it worth it? Should I continue my writing career writing scintillating love novels? Please lemme know in a review, I appreciate any and all feedback! Peace, love, and hair gel!


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